Ebling's Extra Special Beer Cone Top Can

Ebling's Extra Special Cone Top

This 12-ounce cone top can features an applied paper label over a metallic body, carrying an Internal Revenue Tax Paid statement that places its production in the era between the repeal of Prohibition and the early 1950s. Rather than lithographing the graphics directly onto the metal container, the brewery utilized a wraparound paper label, a method commonly used during regional marketing trials, brand transitions, or periods of material restrictions surrounding World War II. The label design is framed by rising sheaves of grain flanking a crimson circular seal that highlights the "EXTRA SPECIAL" designation, while a lower banner displays the brand's rhyming motto: "That Grand Old Beer With The Perfect Body".

Ebling's Extra Special was positioned as a rich, traditional lager crafted to appeal to drinkers who favored a fuller, well-rounded character. Marketing for the brand drew heavily on nostalgia and established brewing pedigree, using slogans celebrating its substantial body to distinguish the beer in a competitive metropolitan marketplace.

The brewery behind the label was established in 1868 by German immigrant brothers Philip and William Ebling in the Bronx, New York. Operating on St. Ann's Avenue, the firm gained early renown for its extensive rock caves excavated in the Melrose bedrock for cold lagering. The company navigated Prohibition by reorganizing and producing non-alcoholic products, later resuming licensed beer production upon Repeal in 1933 as The Ebling Brewing Co., Inc. Ebling remained a prominent regional producer in New York through the 1930s and 1940s before rising packaging costs and pressure from large national shipping breweries led to its closure around 1950.

For breweriana collectors, paper-labeled cone top cans represent an intriguing subcategory of early metal packaging. Because paper labels applied to steel containers were inherently vulnerable to humidity, wear, and peeling over time, surviving specimens stand as prized artifacts of historic New York brewing history.