102 Genuine Draft 12 Oz Tab Top Can

102 Genuine Draft Tab Top Can

This straight steel tab top container was produced by Maier Brewing Company of Los Angeles, California. Holding 12 fluid ounces, this can is cataloged by its metallic finish and the inclusion of a postal zip code within the mandatory brewery text. Earlier reference guides historically grouped this can under an older classification before it was separated into its own distinct listing. The face of the can features an oversized numeral across the top above an illustration of a pilsner glass with a foaming head, accented by a red banner reading "DRAFT" set against a framed panel.

The 102 brand originated during the 1940s when Maier introduced Brew 102 to revitalize its flagship portfolio. Built around an advertising jingle asserting that the brewery tested more than a hundred recipes before perfecting "Brew 102," the brand quickly cemented itself as a ubiquitous, value-oriented lager for working-class Southern California drinkers. In later decades, Maier diversified the label with line extensions, including 102 Genuine Draft, designed to evoke draught beer flavor in convenient packaged form.

Maier Brewing Company occupies a colorful chapter in California brewing history. Tracing back to the nineteenth-century Philadelphia Brewery, the business became Maier & Zobelein in 1882 before adopting the Maier name in 1907 following the dissolution of the founders' partnership. The brewery weathered Prohibition and subsequent receivership, eventually reemerging as a powerhouse regional supplier. Its massive, utilitarian downtown Los Angeles facility sat famously adjacent to the Santa Ana Freeway. In 1958, the brewery changed hands, later falling under the ownership of Paul Kalmanovitz and General Brewing before production permanently ceased in the 1970s.

Within the breweriana hobby, Maier cans remain enduring favorites among collectors who specialize in West Coast and California brewing heritage. Straight steel tab top cans from this period reflect a pivotal manufacturing window prior to the complete transition toward all-aluminum packaging. The subtle variations in mandatory text markings, postal codes, and lithographic finishes make cans from the 102 family an engaging focus for regional historians.