Schmidt Select Near Beer 12 Oz Tab Top Can

Schmidt Select Near Beer Tab Top

This 12-ounce straight steel tab top can represents the non-alcoholic portfolio of the Jacob Schmidt Brewing Company during its era under the Associated Brewing Company corporate banner. Packaged out of St. Paul, Minnesota, the container carries notable period graphic elements, highlighted by the declaration "America's Famous Cereal Beverage" across the upper horizontal stripe and the clear designation "Near Beer" across the lower section. The central panel showcases the traditional red-and-white Schmidt insignia positioned atop a large blue oval framed in gold lattice detailing, highlighting the bold serif "SELECT" lettering.

The Schmidt Select brand originated at the onset of national Prohibition in 1919–1920. When federal law halted standard brewing operations, breweries were required to pivot to legal alternatives containing less than 0.5 percent alcohol by volume. Jacob Schmidt launched Select as a cereal beverage to maintain revenue and preserve plant equipment. The beverage became a staple throughout the dry years and maintained enough enduring brand recognition that the company continued producing and canning Select Near Beer decades later as an alcohol-free malt option.

The brewery itself carried deep roots in St. Paul, originating on West Seventh Street where Christopher Stahlmann founded his Cave Brewery in 1855. Master brewer Jacob Schmidt acquired the plant site at the turn of the twentieth century, establishing the Jacob Schmidt Brewing Company in 1900. Led by business partners Adolf and Otto Bremer following Schmidt's death, the brewery persevered through Prohibition and expanded significantly post-repeal. In 1954, Detroit-based Pfeiffer Brewing Company acquired Schmidt, subsequently renaming the consolidated parent corporation the Associated Brewing Company in 1962 before eventually selling the operations to G. Heileman in 1972.

Within breweriana collecting, vintage near beer and non-alcoholic cereal beverage cans represent a specialized cross-section of canning history. Because near beers were brewed in far smaller distribution volumes than standard regional lagers, cans bearing the Associated Brewing division mandatory from St. Paul provide collectors with a tangible artifact of Midwest brewing consolidation during the tab-top era.