Washington's Xx Pale Beer Crowntainer

Wartime Rebrand of Washington XX

Washington Breweries, Inc., operating out of Columbus, Ohio, produced Washington's XX Pale Beer during a period marked by significant cultural and geopolitical shifts. Prior to this release, the brewery marketed a German-style product known as Noch Eins. With the onset of World War II, heightened anti-German sentiment prompted the company to retire the German moniker and rebrand the offering as Washington's XX Pale Beer.

To emphasize this new identity, the container adopted an overtly patriotic theme featuring a red, white, and blue palette centered around an American eagle motif. This aesthetic shift aligned the brewery with wartime national sentiment while maintaining its regional market presence.

Manufactured by the Crown Cork & Seal Company, the can incorporates the Internal Revenue Tax Paid (IRTP) marking mandated by federal regulations during that era. Known variations exist among surviving examples, differing primarily in the statutory alcohol statement text—such as versions omitting alcohol content declarations entirely versus variations that specify defined percentage thresholds by weight.

Today, Washington's XX Pale Beer remains a compelling historical artifact illustrating how domestic commercial packaging was directly reshaped by mid-twentieth-century global events.