Schlitz Lager Flat Bottom Inverted Rib conetops
*This article appeared in printed form on pages 26 & 27 of the August/September 2015 Issue of Beer Cans & Brewery Collectibles. Hard copies can be obtained by contacting the BCCA.
If you have any additional variations to add, please email me at ctay777@aol.com
by Chris Taylor with special thanks to Dave Wheaton
Additional verification from Jim "conehead" Hall and "Conesplus" Neil Kanetzke
(CR.) 2015 Chris Taylor
Beer can collectors are very familiar with Schlitz Lager cone tops. These cans appear often at trade meets, and at any given time, several are available online. Although the USBCI lists four different flat bottom Schlitz Lager cones (USBC 183/10 – 183/13), no less than eight different side panel statements are known to exist with additional statements possible.
On August 27, 1935, Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company signed with Continental Can Company, becoming the nation's second brewery to market beer in cone top cans. (G. Heileman had signed with Continental on August 13th, about two weeks prior). These first conetops had flat bottoms and low profile spouts with indented rib reinforcements, a can style known to collectors as flat bottom/inverted rib, or “FBIR.” This container design would only remain on the market into early 1936, after which it was replaced by the commonly known concave bottom low-profile conetop. Schlitz’s label designers chose to incorporate the various alcohol content and distributor statements on the side panels of the can labels to comply with Federal or municipal disclosure laws.
To ensure that the proper artwork was used when lithographing a run of specific can sheets, Continental identified each template with a unique code. These were initially printed directly onto the bare metal of the seam, but were soon thereafter lithographed near the bottom of the side panel. In the case of the early Schlitz Lager conetops, the can code (sometimes referred to as the manufacturer’s product code, or MPC) appeared in a format similar to this:
CCCO 4-11-A
This particular code can be broken out as follows:
CCCO: Continental Can Company
4: Facility of origin (Continental Plant 4 was located in Fairfield, Alabama)
11: Product designator (at Plant 4, product 11 was a Cap-Sealed beverage can)
A: Unique “signature” for the specific disclosure verbiage on that label; in the case of Schlitz Lager, designation “A” referred to the statement Contains 4¾% of Alcohol by Volume. The remaining label elements were unchanged between signatures.
The list below is of currently known Continental Plant 4 canning codes lithographed horizontally at the bottom of the Schlitz Lager side panel, along with the corresponding disclosure statements. It is interesting to note that in the case of the “B” signature, the original statement Contents less than 4% of alcohol by weight was amended to This beer does not contain more that 4% of alcohol by weight. This was probably modified in response to the fact that the beer could contain as much as 4% alcohol by weight, thereby rendering the earlier statement a technical falsehood.
CCCO 4-11-A Contains 4¾% of Alcohol by Volume (USBC1 183/12)
CCCO 4-11-B Contents less than 4% of alcohol by weight (Unlisted)
CCCO 4-11-B This beer does not contain more than 4% of alcohol by weight (Unlisted)
CCCO 4-11-C No statement on can (Unlisted)
CCCO 4-11-D Contains 4% of alcohol by volume (183/11)
CCCO 4-11-E 246 Fifth Ave., New York License NO C-1245 (Unlisted)
CCCO 4-11-F Does Not contain more than 5% alcohol by weight (verification needed)
CCCO 4-11-G Alcoholic content exceeds 3.2% by weight (Unlisted)
CCCO 4-11-H Contains not more than 3.2% by weight (verification needed)
CCCO 4-11-I Alcoholic contents in excess of 3.2% and not in excess of 5% by weight (183/10)
As alluded to previously, there also exist early examples of these Schlitz Lager cans where the MPC is printed directly on the vertical chrome edge of the seam instead of on the lithographed portion of the can label (two such examples are known and verified). In each case the area below the statement on the side panel is devoid of a code.
CCCO 4-11-A Contains 4 3/4% of Alcohol by Volume
CCCO 4-11-C No statement on can
Schlitz FBIR cone Variations Comprehensive list
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Schlitz FBIR cone Variations Comprehensive list
"Although the cans will be of no value after opened, their cost is expected to be small..." Iowa: June 22, 1935
Why drive 12 hour one way to dig Pre-Tax Tru Blu ales, Genny 12 Horse Longopeners, Gamecock Ales, Apollos, Neuweilers Bock, and Krueger’s Baldies when you can locally drive 10 hours round trip and dig Pfeiffer, Goebel, Drewrys and Strohs?
Why drive 12 hour one way to dig Pre-Tax Tru Blu ales, Genny 12 Horse Longopeners, Gamecock Ales, Apollos, Neuweilers Bock, and Krueger’s Baldies when you can locally drive 10 hours round trip and dig Pfeiffer, Goebel, Drewrys and Strohs?
- Longopener
- RB Roster
- Posts: 4210
- Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2006 12:17 am
- Rusty Bunch Member Number: 417
- BCCA Number: 29470
- eBay name: Longopener
- Year Started Collecting: 1976
- Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Has thanked: 36 times
- Been thanked: 151 times
- Zodiac:
- Status: Offline
Re: Schlitz FBIR cone Variations Comprehensive list
This FBIR is most likely a test can but as there is only this one known example, until another is found we can only speculate as to what it is. The can is metallic brown/purple with yellow lettering. It was part of a collection of on-grade FBIR cones that Bob McCoy owned in the late 90s.
"Although the cans will be of no value after opened, their cost is expected to be small..." Iowa: June 22, 1935
Why drive 12 hour one way to dig Pre-Tax Tru Blu ales, Genny 12 Horse Longopeners, Gamecock Ales, Apollos, Neuweilers Bock, and Krueger’s Baldies when you can locally drive 10 hours round trip and dig Pfeiffer, Goebel, Drewrys and Strohs?
Why drive 12 hour one way to dig Pre-Tax Tru Blu ales, Genny 12 Horse Longopeners, Gamecock Ales, Apollos, Neuweilers Bock, and Krueger’s Baldies when you can locally drive 10 hours round trip and dig Pfeiffer, Goebel, Drewrys and Strohs?