Storz Tap Genuine Draft 12 Oz Tab Top Can

Storz Tap Genuine Draft Beer Can

Produced during the tab top era of the 1960s, this 12-ounce straight-steel container represents an eye-catching entry in canned draft beer packaging. The can is constructed with a glued seam and features a distinctive lighter brown faux-woodgrain pattern designed to replicate an oak beer keg, finished with printed brass-toned hoops and rivet detailing. Below the banner logo and the script highlighting the company's brewing heritage dating back to 1876, bold slab-serif lettering proudly promotes the contents as genuine draft beer. Within reference literature, the differentiation between specific cataloged sub-variants of this glued-seam release remains subtle and occasionally ambiguous for collectors to distinguish.

Storz Tap was launched during a broader industry trend in the 1960s when regional and national breweries began marketing packaged draft beer designed to deliver tavern-fresh flavor straight from a can. To emphasize this connection, Storz styled the container directly after an authentic aging cask and supported the brand with backbar displays and regional promotions. Marketed under the straightforward name Tap, the offering sought to keep the brewery competitive against aggressive national expansion before shifting industry dynamics ultimately brought the label to an end.

The company behind the beer, Storz Brewing Company, was founded in Omaha, Nebraska, by German immigrant Gottlieb Storz in 1876. The enterprise quickly expanded into an Omaha manufacturing mainstay, operating a sprawling production complex in North Omaha. When Nebraska enacted statewide prohibition in 1917, the brewery survived the dry years by manufacturing near beer, soft drinks, and ice. Following repeal in 1933, Storz rebounded rapidly, growing into Nebraska's top-selling brewer in the years leading into World War II. However, relentless postwar consolidation from national macrobrewers squeezed regional producers. The Storz family sold the business in the mid-1960s, and the plant was acquired by Grain Belt Breweries before permanently shutting down operations in 1972.

For breweriana collectors, this can holds enduring appeal as an artifact of Omaha’s storied brewing legacy. Its creative barrel-stave lithography captures the mid-century draft-in-a-can marketing boom, making it a standout representative of Midwestern regional brewing history.