Bergheim Beer Flat Top Can

Reading's Bergheim Flat Top Can

Produced by the Old Reading Brewery (operating under business names including Reading Brewing Company and Bergheim Brewing Company) in Reading, Pennsylvania, the Bergheim Beer flat top can represents a classic mid-century regional brand from Berks County.

Graphic Design and Heritage

The label art reflects the regional Pennsylvania Dutch and Germanic brewing traditions of southeastern Pennsylvania. The can showcases a scenic pastoral illustration featuring a red barn, a horse-drawn wagon, evergreen trees, and a cascading mountain spring, paired with promotional text highlighting pure mountain spring water. Its German-style blackletter typography and detailed landscape imagery make it a recognizable display piece for breweriana collectors.

Label and Lid Variations

Collectors encounter variations in the mandatory text along the sides and rim. Different production runs credit the beverage to The Old Reading Brewery, Inc., Reading Brewing Company, or the Bergheim Brewing Company trade name. Additionally, examples appear with Pennsylvania state tax stamps printed or embossed across the top lid.

The Final Packaging Run

The Bergheim brand holds a distinct place in brewing history connected to the facility's shutdown in 1976. When the brewery ran out of brewed beer during its final days of operation, factory workers continued operating the canning machinery to seal the remaining Bergheim cans containing only compressed air. These sealed air cans were distributed and sold to collectors and plant workers as farewell souvenirs, cementing the brand's connection to the end of an era in Pennsylvania brewing.