Aero Club Pale Select Beer Cone Top Can

Aero Club Pale Select Cone Top

Manufactured in the late 1940s, this twelve-ounce high-profile cone top was produced for East Idaho Brewing, Inc. of Pocatello, Idaho. In accordance with federal packaging regulations of the era preceding the 1950 tax code amendments, the can includes an Internal Revenue Tax Paid statement while omitting any alcohol content declaration. The front presentation highlights an aeronautical emblem, featuring a stylized winged shield topped by a royal crown set against a bold split field of deep royal blue and metallic gold.

East Idaho Brewing developed the Aero Club brand during the mid-1940s under brewery head E. Morris Rosauer and brewmaster William H. Biner. Designed to serve as the company's premier label, Aero Club capitalized on the postwar public fascination with aviation, projecting a theme of modern style and prestige. Rosauer created a dedicated distributorship to expand the brand across Idaho and into neighboring markets in Utah and Wyoming. While initially packaged strictly in bottles, the brand expanded into metal cone tops near the close of the decade, remaining the brewery’s signature label until the facility ceased production in the mid-1950s.

The brewery’s roots in Pocatello trace back to the turn of the century, operating first as the American Brewing Company and later as the Franklin & Hayes Brewing Company before Idaho enacted early statewide prohibition. Following national repeal, the historic plant at 633 South 1st Avenue was revived in 1935 as the East Idaho Brewing Company, initially backed by Washington's Columbia Breweries before transitioning to independent local leadership in the 1940s. Operating in an isolated Intermountain market, East Idaho was one of only two brewing companies in the entire state of Idaho to package its products in cans during this era. Rising competition from national shipping giants eventually forced the regional operation to close its doors permanently in 1954.

Among breweriana enthusiasts, cans from Idaho represent a celebrated collecting niche due to the small number of packaging facilities in the state. The pairing of classic cone top construction, scarce Pacific Northwest regional origin, and crossover interest from aviation heraldry makes this can an essential artifact of Intermountain West brewing history.