Schlitz Malt Liquor 8 Oz Tab Top Can

Schlitz Malt Liquor 8 Oz Memphis Can

Bearing a 1973 copyright date, this 8-ounce tab top can showcases the classic aesthetic of Schlitz Malt Liquor in a compact "nip" size. The container features straight-steel body construction paired with an aluminum tab top lid. Along the lower rim, the mandatory statement lists six production cities, with a distinguishing printer's dot placed over Memphis, Tennessee, identifying the canning facility. In breweriana reference catalogs, straight-steel examples of this design are documented, whereas all-aluminum versions remain unrecorded. The front of the can prominently features the brand's blue charging bull framed inside an ornate medallion pattern.

Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company introduced Schlitz Malt Liquor in the early 1960s to compete in the expanding malt beverage category. While initial marketing positioned the drink as an upscale cocktail alternative to be served over ice, the brand quickly pivoted toward dynamic, high-energy advertising. Schlitz launched one of television's most memorable mid-century promotional campaigns centered on its blue bull mascot, showing live bulls bursting through walls accompanied by catchphrases such as "Don't say beer, say Bull!" and "Nobody does it like the Bull." The bold branding helped make the beverage a mainstay of late-twentieth-century beer culture.

The Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company traced its origins to 1849, when August Krug opened a small brewery in Milwaukee. Following Krug's death, bookkeeper Joseph Schlitz assumed management and eventually married Krug's widow. The business gained national renown after shipping thousands of barrels of beer and potable water to Chicago following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Schlitz survived Prohibition through the production of near beer and malt syrup, emerging into the postwar decades as one of the largest brewing titans in the United States. A series of cost-cutting brewing reformulations and labor disputes in the 1970s disrupted sales, leading to the company's sale to the Stroh Brewery Company in 1982 before the portfolio was eventually absorbed into the Pabst Brewing Company.

Eight-ounce cans hold a dedicated following among breweriana enthusiasts who appreciate their compact format and sharp graphic presentation. For tab top and malt liquor specialists, discovering cans with specific regional brewery indicators—such as the Memphis plant marking—adds an engaging element of industrial history to the hobby.