Champale, Sparkling Extra Dry Malt Liquor Flat Top Can

Metropolis Champale Flat Top Can

This 12-ounce flat top can represents a mid-century packaging format produced for Metropolis Brewery of N.J., Inc. in Trenton, New Jersey. The can's presentation emphasizes an upscale aesthetic, featuring an angled white banner framed with metallic gold trim against a rich green background. Dominating the graphic layout is elegant red and black cursive script displaying the "Sparkling Extra Dry Champale Malt Liquor" brand name, crowned by a heraldic crest featuring rampant horses flanking a shield beneath a coronet.

Metropolis introduced Champale in 1939, fermenting the beverage with specialized wine yeasts to create an effervescent profile reminiscent of sparkling wine while remaining within the brewing category of malt liquor. Positioned as an accessible luxury, the brand was promoted with slogans encouraging consumers to "serve like champagne" and enjoy a celebratory drink that cost just pennies more than beer. Champale established a distinct niche in the American beverage market, maintaining wide national distribution for decades before the brand was sold to Iroquois Brands in the 1970s and subsequently acquired by the G. Heileman Brewing Company in 1986.

The Metropolis Brewery of New Jersey operated from an industrial facility located at Lalor and Lamberton streets in Trenton, a brewing site dating back to nineteenth-century predecessors including the Trenton Brewing Company and Peoples Brewing Company. While many mid-sized regional breweries closed during post-war industry consolidation, Metropolis sustained its operations and expanded plant capacity based on the nationwide success of its flagship malt liquor. The Trenton facility eventually operated under the Champale corporate name before brewing operations at the site ceased in the late 1980s.

For breweriana collectors, this flat top can serves as an important artifact from the pioneering days of the malt liquor category. Its hybrid identity—blending classic beer canning with champagne-inspired motifs—makes it a standout display piece for collectors focusing on New Jersey brewing history, mid-century can designs, and specialty malt beverages.