Schlitz Lager Beer Cone Top Can

Schlitz Lager Flat Bottom Cone Top

Produced in the mid-1930s following the repeal of Prohibition, this twelve-ounce container represents one of Continental Can Company's earliest packaging designs: the low-profile "Cap-Sealed" cone top featuring inverted ribs pressed into the cone neck and a flat bottom. Manufactured with a mandatory Internal Revenue Tax Paid statement, this release also carries a statutory alcohol declaration specifying a range between 3.2% and 5% alcohol by volume. The front display prominently pairs the company's sweeping script lettering with its legendary marketing slogan, "the BEER that made Milwaukee famous."

That renowned slogan originated in the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, when the brewery dispatched hundreds of barrels of drinking water and beer south across Lake Michigan to relieve the devastated city. The resulting goodwill and nationwide exposure propelled Schlitz from a regional enterprise into a national powerhouse. Schlitz positioned its flagship lager as a premium American standard, achieving massive market penetration through mid-century advertising and repeatedly capturing the title of America's best-selling brewer before turbulent recipe alterations triggered a sharp sales collapse in the 1970s.

The Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company traced its origins to 1849, when August Krug established a small brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Following Krug's death, the business was taken over by his bookkeeper, Joseph Schlitz, who married Krug's widow and incorporated the firm in 1856. When Schlitz was lost at sea in 1875, operational control passed to Krug's nephews, the Uihlein brothers, who guided the brewery through decades of explosive expansion. During Prohibition, the firm navigated federal manufacturing bans by producing dealcoholized cereal beverages, malt extracts, and confections. Following Repeal, Schlitz modernized rapidly, remaining a dominant force until its acquisition by the Stroh Brewery Company in 1982.

For breweriana collectors, early flat-bottom inverted-rib cone tops carry exceptional historical weight. Designed so standard bottling lines could fill metal containers without requiring costly canning machinery installations, these vessels mark the very beginning of the canned beer movement in America. Combined with the period-specific tax wording and early alcohol content labeling, this container stands as an essential artifact from Milwaukee's classic brewing heritage.