Drewry's Draft 12 Oz Tab Top Can

Drewrys Draft Steel Tab Top

This 12-ounce straight steel can represents the packaged draft beer trend of the late 1960s. Issued by Drewrys Ltd. of South Bend, Indiana, the container showcases label graphics centered on a wooden barrel head fitted with a traditional wooden spigot tap. Stenciled across the barrel face is the brand name, bordered by bright yellow top and bottom bands. The lower margin features a statement certifying that the beer inside is genuine non-pasteurized draft beer. While catalog records illustrate a coin-bank lid variation, standard tab-top versions are also documented for this label.

Drewrys Draft was introduced to capitalize on the surge of unpasteurized draft beer packaged for retail sale. By the mid-to-late 1960s, cold-filtration techniques allowed regional and national brewers to package draft beer in cans and bottles without needing traditional heat pasteurization. Drewrys marketed the beverage as authentic tavern-fresh draft to be enjoyed at home. While the Drewrys brand was famously identified across the Midwest by its classic Canadian Mountie mascot, this design pivoted to cooperage imagery to emphasize bulk keg authenticity. The product remained a staple in regional markets through Drewrys' final years in Indiana.

The Drewrys story began in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where Edward L. Drewry established a successful brewing empire in 1877. Sensing major opportunity as American Prohibition came to a close, Drewrys established a presence in the United States and purchased the former Muessel Brewing Company plant in South Bend in 1936. Drewrys quickly modernized the facility and expanded into one of the most prominent regional brewing companies in the Midwest, regularly competing with national shipping brewers. In the 1960s, Drewrys merged into Detroit-based Associated Brewing Company. Facing intense competition from national industry consolidation, Associated was acquired by G. Heileman Brewing Company in 1972, leading to the permanent closure of the South Bend brewery.

For breweriana collectors, this can holds appeal as a snapshot of the competitive draft beer marketing wave of the tab-top era. Its rustic barrel presentation, unpasteurized draft certification, and availability with both regular pull-tab and promotional bank-top lids make it a favored piece of Indiana brewing history.