Cold Brau Eastern Premium Beer Flat Top Can

Chicago's Cold Brau Flat Top Can

The Cold Brau Eastern Premium Beer flat top can represents a classic mid-century package produced for the Schoenhofen Edelweiss Company of Chicago, Illinois. Designed with a clean, horizontal striped backdrop, the label centers on a bold blue shield framed by a red enamel crown bearing the stylized "CB" monogram. Below the Gothic-style brand typography, the can highlights "Eastern Premium" in distinctive red enamel script above the bold blue beer designation, while the lower band features the brand slogan: "MILD • MELLOW • DRY."

Introduced during the 1950s, Cold Brau served as an accessible regional offering designed to capture market share among value-conscious consumers. Marketed with an emphasis on crisp drinkability, the brand utilized its "Eastern Premium" designation to evoke heritage and brewing quality. The label design remained in circulation through the flat top era and into the early pull tab generation, with the brand name continuing through corporate reorganizations before eventually being retired.

The can originates from one of Chicago’s most storied brewing dynasties. Founded in 1861 by German immigrant Peter Schoenhofen, the Peter Schoenhofen Brewing Company grew into one of the city's largest pre-Prohibition breweries, celebrated for its flagship Edelweiss label. During Prohibition, the company sustained operations by manufacturing near beer and the popular Green River soft drink. Reorganizing after repeal as the Schoenhofen Edelweiss Company, the brewery later affiliated with Drewrys Ltd. U.S.A. as mid-century consolidation swept through the regional brewing industry. Production at the historic Chicago facilities continued until mounting national competition led to its closure.

For breweriana collectors, this flat top can remains a desirable artifact of Chicago's mid-century brewing landscape. The interplay of vibrant red enamel script against the shield graphic makes it a popular display piece for enthusiasts focused on mid-western brewing history and post-war flat tops.