Augustiner Beer Flat Top Can

August Wagner Augustiner Flat Top Can

This twelve-ounce flat top beer can was produced for August Wagner Breweries, Inc. of Columbus, Ohio. Reflecting mid-twentieth-century canning design, the container features a clean white background framed by metallic gold bands along the top, bottom, and diagonal borders. Across the face, the Augustiner name is printed in bold red Germanic typography with "Beer" scripted in red underneath. Arrayed across the upper portion of the label is a sequence of international exposition award medals, showcasing accolades earned in European competitions such as Paris and Antwerp in the early 1910s.

Augustiner was developed to highlight traditional Bavarian brewing heritage and was marketed as a classic Old World lager. By incorporating its historic exhibition medals directly onto the label, the brewery underscored the brand's pedigree and quality. Distributed primarily across Ohio, Indiana, and West Virginia alongside the brewery's Gambrinus label, Augustiner served as a familiar regional favorite through several decades of postwar brewing.

The history of the brewery dates to 1906, when Bavarian immigrant brewmaster August Wagner established the Gambrinus Brewing and Bottling Company on South Front Street in Columbus. During Prohibition, the company adapted by manufacturing near-beer, malt tonics, and soft drinks under the banner of August Wagner & Sons Products Company. With the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, beer production resumed, and the firm adopted the name August Wagner Breweries, Inc. in 1937. The brewery remained a proud family-owned operation for decades—gaining national television exposure in 1962 when vice president Helen Wagner appeared on What's My Line?—before consolidation pressures led to the closure of the Columbus facility in 1974, after which its brand portfolio was acquired by the Pittsburgh Brewing Company.

Today, this Augustiner can stands as an appealing artifact of central Ohio's brewing landscape. It holds enduring interest among collectors of regional Midwestern breweriana and vintage steel flat tops who appreciate its detailed heraldic awards and mid-century graphic styling.