Ben Brew 100% Grain Beer Cone Top Can

Ben Brew 100% Grain Beer Cone Top

This 12-ounce high-profile cone top container was produced for The Franklin Brewing Company of Columbus, Ohio. Built on Continental Can Company’s Cap-Sealed cone top design, this version lacks the "Internal Revenue Tax Paid" (IRTP) mandatory statement, identifying it as a post-1950 production run issued during the twilight years of the brewery's operations. The label artwork is distinguished by a bold red banner proclaiming "100% Grain Beer" intertwined with crossed cereal stalks, a design choice meant to spotlight ingredient purity directly on store shelves.

Ben Brew was the flagship label for Franklin Brewing, originally introduced in the early 1900s before national Prohibition and successfully reintroduced after the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment. Marketed throughout central Ohio, the brand leaned heavily into its traditional brewing methods, using the "100% Grain Beer" slogan to assure consumers that no adjunct short-cuts were taken in its production. The brand appeared across draft handles, bottles, and cone top cans until it ceased production when the brewery changed hands in the 1950s.

The Franklin Brewing Company was established in Columbus in 1905 on North Cleveland Avenue, carving out a dedicated local following in a city with a rich brewing heritage. Like many regional brewers, it was shuttered by Prohibition in 1919. The company was reorganized post-repeal and operated from North Sandusky Street. Despite successfully weathering the Great Depression and wartime material shortages, the post-war era brought fierce competition from well-financed national shipping breweries. Unable to outpace the industry's massive consolidation wave, Franklin Brewing ended independent operations when it was acquired by the Pilsener Brewing Company in 1952.

For collectors of Ohio breweriana and mid-century packaging, this can represents a key artifact from the final chapter of Columbus brewing independence. Cans manufactured just after the repeal of federal IRTP requirements were produced for a very narrow window of time, making regional high-profile cone tops from post-war Ohio prized centerpieces among breweriana enthusiasts.