Buffalo Brand Extra Pale Beer Quart

Sacramento's Buffalo Quart Cone Top

This 32-ounce cone top can represents a classic large-format package produced by Buffalo Brewery, Inc. of Sacramento, California. Sized as a full quart, the container features the mandatory "Internal Revenue Tax Paid" statement printed along the arched perimeter of its central oval crest, anchoring its production to the era between the repeal of Prohibition and the early 1950s when federal tax-paid wording was discontinued.

The Buffalo brand was one of Northern California's most recognizable hometown names. Positioned as a flagship regional brew, the label design proudly incorporates the slogan "Pride of Sacramento" positioned beneath a cluster of hop cones and leaves. Buffalo Brand Extra Pale Beer was marketed to capitalize on deep local roots in the Sacramento Valley, offering a crisp, pale lager intended to compete against expanding national shipping labels. Following industry consolidation and the post-war decline of mid-sized independent breweries, the brand ceased production in the mid-20th century.

The brewery itself was established in 1890 by Herman Grau at 21st and Q streets in Sacramento. Capitalizing on regional hop farming and fresh Sierra Nevada water, the Buffalo Brewing Company quickly expanded to become one of the largest brewing operations west of the Mississippi River by the turn of the century. The onset of Prohibition in 1920 forced the company to adapt by producing near beer, soda, and commercial ice. After Repeal, the business resumed brewing under reorganized management as Buffalo Brewery, Inc. However, intensifying post-war competition from giant national conglomerates eventually led the historic plant to close its doors in the mid-1940s.

Quart cone tops represent a particularly desirable category in breweriana collecting due to their imposing size and bold graphic presence. Because 32-ounce cans were produced in significantly smaller volumes than standard 12-ounce formats and were largely distributed to local taverns and regional stores, surviving examples from California's capital city are celebrated artifacts of West Coast industrial and brewing heritage.