Permit issued to update look of iconic ‘World’s Largest Six-Pack’ at La Crosse brewery

City Brewing representatives have been tight-lipped about what the new refacing project will look like, although the issued permit references “Old Style” in the subject line, indicating the cans could be refaced with their original look. City Brewing declined to comment.

The Tribune first reported about plans to update the appearance of the tanks in August 2022.

The iconic tourist attraction has had a few different looks since 1969, when Heileman Brewery first decorated the large storage tanks to look like giant beer cans. The tanks were painted to resemble cans of Heileman’s Old Style Lager Beer.

Thirty years later, the brewery was sold to City Brewing and painted over in white, before in 2003 they were decorated again — this time in homage to the new owner’s La Crosse Lager. Last year, the old faded vinyl coverings were removed to make way for the new project.

Pabst Brewing Co. acquired the Old Style brand in 1999, when it purchased Stroh Brewing, and in 2019 the beer giant announced in an industry newsletter it would move most of its production to City Brewing facilities, which has plants in a La Crosse, Memphis and Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

City Brewing Co. also received a permit to construct a new building in “silo alley” and extend an underground tunnel from the brewhouse to the new structure. The project was estimated to cost $1.8 million.