Grand Prize Beer was once one of Texas' biggest beer brands. Brewed by Houston's Gulf Brewing Company beginning in the 1930s, right after Prohibition was lifted, it became the beer of choice for generations of working Texans, backyard barbecues, neighborhood ice houses and Friday afternoons that quietly became Friday evenings, complete with fireflies and kids playing in the yard. 

Grand Prize was actually the most popular beer in Texas by 1936, and stayed super-popular into the 1950s and 1960s. Eccentric playboy engineer Howard Hughes founded the company, and the brewery was located right there on the grounds of Hughes Tool Company on the east side of town. Before national labels dominated grocery store shelves, Grand Prize proudly represented Houston brewing. It was poured in neighborhood taverns, fishing camps, VFW halls, bowling leagues and backyard cookouts all across Southeast Texas.

Then the world changed.

Breweries consolidated.

Consumer tastes shifted.

F’g Zima was a thing for a while. Glad that’s over. 

We still have awesome local beer brands today. In fact, the brewmasters at Saint Arnold Brewing Company brought Grand Prize back to life and it’s delicious.

But this can is evidence of the old guard in Houston brewing. 

This wonderfully weathered Grand Prize Pale Dry Beer can has clearly lived an interesting life. Empty, rusty and gloriously imperfect, it somehow survived decades of Houston humidity and neglect. Frankly, I’m amazed any of these survived through the decades. 

Unlike pristine examples that look as though they rolled off the production line yesterday, this can proudly wears every year of its age. Rust freckles the surface. The colors have softened. Time has left its fingerprints all over it. This little fighter earned every scratch, every stain and every patch of oxidation before finally becoming something worthy of note.

The classic Grand Prize graphics remain remarkably recognizable despite the passage of time, giving the can the sort of character that simply can't be manufactured. 

Details

• Original Grand Prize Pale Dry Beer can

• Empty

• Vintage steel can built like a Sherman tank 

• Significant surface rust and honest wear

• 2.75” diameter, 4.75” tall

• Tetanus shot not included

If this doesn’t sell in a reasonable time, I’m pulling it to use as an interior design element in my office because this thing has vintage Houston Man Cave / Sports Bar vibes all over.