Schmidt Select Near Beer 12 Oz Tab Top Can

Schmidt Select Near Beer Can

The Schmidt Select Near Beer can issued under the Associated Brewing Company banner represents a storied chapter in Saint Paul, Minnesota brewing history. The Select brand originally emerged during Prohibition when the Jacob Schmidt Brewing Company developed non-alcoholic cereal beverages—containing less than one-half of one percent alcohol by volume—to sustain operations during nationwide temperance laws.

Following corporate changes that brought the brewery into the Associated Brewing Company network during the 1960s, production of the non-alcoholic staple continued out of the iconic castle-style brewhouse on West Seventh Street in Saint Paul. The design features the classic Schmidt branding tailored for near beer, highlighting the cereal beverage identity alongside traditional company insignia.

During Associated's tenure managing the Saint Paul facility, the brewery served as a regional powerhouse in the Upper Midwest. Known variations of this can exist, featuring differences in corporate mandatory text and brewery division markings that document Associated's changing packaging guidelines before the brand was later acquired by G. Heileman Brewing Company.