Bock Brand Bock Flat Top Can

Metropolis Bock Brand Flat Top

Dating to the mid-1950s, this 12-ounce flat top represents one of the most striking seasonal beer can designs of the post-World War II era. The label features an intensely expressive goat head illustration centered within a bold black oval framed by metallic gold and red accent bands. In European and American brewing traditions, the goat long served as the universal emblem for bock beers, and this can delivers an especially bold and memorable graphic presentation.

Bock Brand was produced as a seasonal dark lager offering catering to the spring bock beer trade throughout the Mid-Atlantic market. Rather than subordinating the bock designation under a broader brewery umbrella, the can presented "Bock Brand" directly to appeal to consumers seeking a hearty, old-world style seasonal brew. In keeping with the seasonal nature of bock releases, distribution took place in limited seasonal canning runs during the 1950s before Metropolis consolidated its packaging focus.

The can was produced by Metropolis Brewery of N.J., Inc., situated at the historic Lalor and Lamberton Streets brewing complex in Trenton, New Jersey. The location had previously served as the home of the Peoples Brewing Company before Metropolis assumed operations at the start of the 1950s. While Metropolis became famous nationwide for its flagship sparkling malt liquor, Champale, the Trenton facility maintained active packaging lines for traditional lagers, ales, and supermarket contract brands until the brewery ceased operations in 1967.

Among breweriana collectors, mid-century flat tops showcasing bock iconography enjoy a dedicated following. The combination of classic New Jersey industrial heritage and a ferocious, detailed goat graphic makes this Metropolis can a standout favorite in thematic bock and regional East Coast collections.