Van Merritt Beer 12 Oz Tab Top Can

Van Merritt Beer Tab Top Can

Produced during the 1970s, this 12-ounce straight steel tab top can represents a later chapter for a storied regional brand. Manufactured by the Peter Hand Brewing Company of Chicago, Illinois—as noted alongside its local postal zip code on the side seam—the can features Dutch-inspired iconography inside a prominent oval frame. The label prominently displays a traditional windmill flanked by colorful tulips, accompanied by the longstanding brand slogan "The World's Most Honored Beer," a banner promoting "Imported Flavor," and text referencing an Old World brewing formula originating in 1433.

The Van Merritt brand was historically positioned as a premium European-style lager, leaning heavily into Old World prestige and imported styling to stand apart from mainstream domestic competitors. Originally produced across various Midwestern brewing facilities, the label was promoted for decades as an upscale, formula-driven offering. Following the late 1973 closure of Indiana's Old Crown Brewing Corporation, Peter Hand acquired the rights to the brand, keeping Van Merritt in regional distribution.

The Peter Hand Brewing Company was founded in Chicago in 1891 by Prussian immigrant and Civil War veteran Peter Hand. The facility grew into one of Chicago’s preeminent brewing institutions, surviving Prohibition before re-establishing itself as a major Midwestern producer. In the 1960s, the company rebranded as Meister Brau, Inc. and developed the pioneering Meister Brau Lite. Facing financial strains, the company sold its primary trademarks in 1972 to Miller, which adapted the low-calorie formula into Miller Lite. Reorganizing under the Peter Hand name under a new investor group, the Chicago plant produced legacy brands, specialty lines, and acquired labels like Van Merritt until closing permanently in 1978.

For breweriana enthusiasts, this can serves as an evocative artifact of Chicago’s late independent brewing era. It captures the final years of Peter Hand’s operations and documents how domestic regional brewers utilized traditional European themes and imported-style marketing to appeal to consumers during the 1970s steel pull tab era.