Big Cat Malt Liquor: Circa 1976

This month I want to show a can that I had in my original collection in the 1970s, and one with a favorite memory.

This is a Big Cat Malt Liquor, made by Pabst Brewing in Milwaukee. It was one of a slew of Malt Liquors introduced in the late 1950s and early 1960s along with Schlitz Malt Liquor and Colt 45 from Baltimore’s National Brewing. I don’t know when they stopped making it, but my guess would be roughly 1979 based upon the style of cans it appeared in. Other Pabst brands began appearing in aluminum cans in the late 1970s, but there are no aluminum Big Cat cans listed in the BCCAs can guides. It is, however, mentioned as one of Pabst’s brands in a 1977 news article.

Big Cat Advertising Piece

 

When I started collecting beer cans in 1976 my Dad helped me add cans to my collection. He was never much of a drinker, and I suspect a lot of the beer from cans he bought ended up going down the kitchen sink. He was very precise, and the original collection cans I still have that I got from him I can still ID from the two tiny nail holes he made in the bottom of the can to empty it, the holes 180 degrees apart. Very precise.

Dad did have a great idea though. He worked at the Moraine Frigidaire Plant south of Dayton as a plant engineer—basically he designed assembly lines. He knew the line workers often drank beer out in the parking lot on their breaks so one evening after the plant was closed, he drove me to the lot south of the plant along Kettering Boulevard. We drove slowly along the rows of empty spots. There were a lot of beer cans, most of which were too common to grab. Suddenly, there it was! A Big Cat! A brand I’d not heard of. I jumped out and grabbed it. I’m sure it must have a strong beer smell still, but it was a new can for the shelf.

The Frigidaire Moraine plants. The parking lots on the right side were bigger in the 1970s. https://blogs.libraries.wright.edu/news/outofthebox/2011/05/17/dayton-industries-and-inventors/

Much of my original collection disappeared in the years between my moving out of my parents’ house, and them selling the house to move years later. But I’ve been replacing a few of the lost cans as time goes on. This is one of them.

The Frigidaire plant closed when GM sold the brand to White Industries in 1979. I spent two summers working there after High School though, making me the 4 th generation of the Benbow family to work in the Moraine facility, starting with my great-grandpa Ralph who worked on the line. My Dad stayed with GM and helped design the new factory layout that made S-10 trucks. He retired around 1988 or so and passed away from cancer in 1998. I miss him still, and the cans he helped me add to my collection back then are still treasured parts of my collection.

Big Cat Variations

There are multiple Big Cat cans, in 12 and 16 oz, and all made by Pabst, although in several of their breweries. The most common are the Malt Liquor cans. The “STOUT” cans were made for sale in Minnesota and are very hard to find. The Malt Lager cans were sold in Virginia and North Carolina and are also hard to find.

12 Oz Cans

Brand Name	Where Made	Can Type	Notes
Big Cat Malt Liquor	Peoria Heights, IL	Flat top	Scarce can
Big Cat Malt Liquor	Milwaukee, WI	Flat top	Not in original USBC
Big Cat Malt Liquor	Los Angeles, CA	Zip and tab top
Big Cat Malt Liquor	Los Angeles, CA	Zip top	“STOUT” on lid
Big Cat Stout Malt Liquor	Los Angeles, CA	Zip top	Very scarce
Big Cat Malt Lager	Peoria Heights, IL	Zip top	Scarce can
Big Cat Malt Liquor	Peoria Heights, IL	Zip and tab top
Big Cat Stout Malt Liquor	Peoria Heights, IL	Zip	Scarce
Big Cat Malt Liquor	Newark, NJ	Zip and tab top
Big Cat Malt Liquor	Milwaukee, WI	Zip and tab top
Big Cat Malt Liquor	Milwaukee, WI	Tab top	No stripes on can, very scarce
Big Cat Malt Liquor	Milwaukee, WI	Tab top	Crimped steel can

 

16 Oz Cans

Brand Name	Where Made	Can Type	Notes
Big Cat Malt Liquor	Los Angeles, CA	Tab
Big Cat Malt Liquor	Milwaukee, WI	Tab

Sources

Beer Can Collectors of America.  United States Beer Cans (Beer Can Collectors of America: Fenton, Mo) Including the online supplement. (Accessed June 9, 2024)

Beer Can Collectors of America.  United States Beer Cans: Volume II. (Beer Can Collectors of America: Fenton, Mo) Including the online supplement. (Accessed June 9, 2024)

Beer Can Collectors of America. American Beer Cans: 1975-1988

Dayton Industries and Inventors: Posted on May 17, 2011 by Phillip Elam. https://blogs.libraries.wright.edu/news/outofthebox/2011/05/17/dayton-industries-and-inventors/ (Accessed June 9, 2024)

Dougherty, Philip H. "Anheuser Adds Malt Liquor". New York Times. Jan 18, 1971:62.

Dougherty, Philip H. "Advertising: Suds That Flex a Big Muscle". New York Times. Jun 17, 1969:70.

Dougherty, Philip H. "Advertising: Pabst Objective: A Headier Ad Brew". New York Times. Oct 07, 1977:98.

PB. "Advertising: Brewers Uncork Malt Liquor". New York Times. Feb 18, 1964:56.