La Crosse Disguised Brewery Tanks as a Giant Six-Pack of Beer

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La Crosse’s World’s Largest Six-Pack is six brewery storage tanks dressed to look like oversized beer cans. A beer storage tank is a large vessel used to hold beer at a brewery. The surprising design turns industrial equipment into a playful roadside landmark, giving you an unusual stop on a La Crosse road trip or Wisconsin sightseeing trip.

From the road, the six-pack looks more like a giant beer display than working brewery equipment. That contrast makes it an easy roadside photo stop and a memorable part of La Crosse travel. The landmark grew from a working brewery’s need for storage. Its size and bright design make ordinary brewery gear hard to miss.

Key Takeaways

• Six brewery tanks form the landmark.
• The six-pack is part of La Crosse’s brewing history.
• Its design makes practical equipment a local attraction.
• The brewery site remains a working production facility.
• You can view the landmark from outside.

The unusual landmark began as a practical way to store excess beer, not as a purpose-built tourist attraction.

Worlds Largest Six Pack La Crosse Wisconsin: How Much Beer Can It Hold?

The six tanks hold about 688,200 US gallons of beer in total. That gives the world largest six-pack landmark a scale far beyond any ordinary retail pack, even though the tanks serve as brewery storage equipment.

The six-pack is also part of a wider American beer story, one explored in this look at U.S. beer cities.

Six 54-foot tanks

Each of the six storage tanks stands 54 feet tall, or about 16 meters. Their height gives the landmark its can-like shape, while their combined capacity reaches about 2,605,000 liters. These are large vessels built to hold beer at a brewery, not cans sold in a store.

The phrase “largest six” can suggest a stack of retail cans, but the landmark uses full-size brewery tanks instead. That distinction explains why its capacity is measured in hundreds of thousands of gallons, rather than in a few cases.

The six-pack is brewery storage equipment, not six retail cans.

A six-pack that lasts millennia

The tanks’ capacity equals 7,340,796 cans, each holding 12 ounces. A sign at the site says that amount could provide one person a six-pack a day for 3,351 years. The comparison means a full six-pack every day, not one can per day.

That stretch of time is hard to picture, so the daily serving gives the number a human scale. It also turns a huge storage figure into a simple comparison anyone can follow. The six-pack-a-day comparison is the most intuitive way to picture a capacity measured in millions of cans.

How Did Brewery Tanks Become Old Style Cans?

G. Heileman Brewing Company first built the tanks to hold excess beer, then turned them into Old Style advertising. The cans’ appearance has changed as brewery ownership and beer brands changed. That history connects working storage tanks with the familiar look of a local beer label.

La Crosse’s brewing history also fits into a longer American tradition of breweries becoming visitor landmarks. You can read about other historic beer sites on this beer history road trip.

From excess beer to Old Style advertising

Heileman built the tanks in 1969 to store excess beer. In 1970, the brewing company painted them to advertise Old Style. The brewery closed in 1996, and City Brewing Company took control of the factory and tanks in 1999.

A story about University of Wisconsin-Madison students tapping the tanks with axes is an urban legend, not a verified event. The practical equipment stayed in place as the site changed hands.

White paint, vinyl labels, and a return

City Brewing Company painted the tanks white in 2000. Three years later, vinyl labels for La Crosse Lager covered four tanks, giving the display a new local brand. The labels showed how the world largest landmark could keep serving as brewery advertising.

In 2023, the Old Style look came back after the brand announced production would return to La Crosse. The design again matched the packaging that first made the tanks recognizable. The 2023 return of the Old Style look tied the landmark back to the brand that first made it recognizable.

What Can You See at the La Crosse Site?

The site is a roadside stop where you can see the six-pack from outside the working brewery. Find it at 1106 3rd St S, La Crosse, WI 54601. City Brewing Company’s production facility is not open to the public, so plan on viewing the landmark from outside.

Across the street, the 15-foot Gambrinus statue adds another piece of brewery history. The original statue was made in 1890 and moved to La Crosse in 1939. It was removed in 2015, and a replacement fiberglass statue returned in 2017. The best-known photo details are easy to spot from the street:

• Frame all six tanks together to show the full six-pack design.
• Include the Gambrinus statue across the street in a wider view.
• Try a viewpoint just past the tanks to create forced perspective.

The photo angles depend on where you stand, so take a moment to check your surroundings before lifting your camera.

Take care crossing the busy one-way stretch of street to reach the statue or choose a photo position.

Conclusion

The six-pack is memorable because its giant beer-can appearance grew out of real brewery storage tanks. That mix of working equipment and bold design gives the landmark a clear place in La Crosse’s brewing story. Its Old Style look links the display to the beer brand that first turned the tanks into a local sight.

Add the roadside stop to your La Crosse visit if you enjoy unusual landmarks or beer history. Check your route before setting out, then leave time to view the tanks from outside the production site. Add 1106 3rd St S to your La Crosse route if you want to see the landmark in person.