Ski Country Beer 12 Oz Tab Top Can

Walter's Ski Country Premium Beer

Issued in the late 1960s to early 1970s by the Walter Brewing Company of Pueblo, Colorado, this Ski Country Premium Beer can is a straight steel tab top container holding 12 fluid ounces. The label stands out for its vivid winter sports graphics, departing from the era's conventional corporate motifs. The front face features an alpine landscape centered on a jagged, snow-capped rocky mountain peak flanked by evergreens, accompanied below by an illustration of a downhill skier in a dynamic forward tuck beneath a bold red banner.

Walter Brewing introduced the Ski Country label to capitalize on the rapid growth of Colorado’s ski industry. In the post-war decades, resorts throughout the Rocky Mountains grew into major international vacation spots, establishing a lucrative regional lifestyle market. Ski Country was packaged and positioned specifically to attract winter tourists, resort lodges, and outdoor sports enthusiasts. Although Walter produced dozens of private labels and contract brews during this era to keep its plant running, the Ski Country line enjoyed a relatively brief commercial lifespan before being retired in the early 1970s.

The Walter Brewing Company dated back to 1898, when German immigrant Martin Walter—part of a prominent brewing family that operated several breweries across Wisconsin—traveled west, saw opportunity in Pueblo's booming industrial economy, and purchased the existing local brewery for $7,000. Walter modernized the facility and turned it into one of the largest brewing operations in the Rocky Mountain region. Even though Colorado adopted statewide Prohibition early in 1916—forcing the plant into an extended shutdown—the brewery reopened following federal repeal in 1933. The firm enjoyed strong regional sales through the mid-20th century, but mounting pressure from aggressive national brewing conglomerates eventually led to financial strain, resulting in the Pueblo plant closing for good in January 1975.

Among breweriana collectors, Ski Country is prized as a crossover collectible that unites Colorado brewing history with vintage ski ephemera. Its bold scenic illustration and direct tie to the golden age of American ski culture make it a standout example of Walter Brewing’s late-era output.