Esslinger Premium Beer Flat Top Can

Esslinger Premium Beer Flat Top

This 12-ounce flat top can represents Esslinger’s flagship lager from the early 1950s. The front face features a bold vertical stripe centered around the brewery’s beloved “Little Man” mascot—a smiling waiter in uniform carrying a tray loaded with a bottle and a filled pilsner glass. Flowing script across the bottom denotes the brew as "Philadelphia's Premium BEER." The defining element of this particular issue is the small copyright inscription reading "© 1951 E. & S." printed in gold ink directly beneath the central brand panel on the red vertical field, distinguishing it from alternate press runs that omitted the notation or utilized differing printing colors.

Marketed as the core product of Esslinger’s, Inc., Esslinger Premium was positioned as a proud homegrown staple throughout the Delaware Valley. The brewery leveraged local pride to compete with expanding national shipping brewers, relying heavily on the friendly Little Man mascot on billboards, tavern signs, and advertising novelties. The brand earned a reputation for clever marketing campaigns, paving the way for the company's famous interactive party-trivia cans introduced later in the decade.

The brewery traced its roots to 1868, when German immigrant George Esslinger began brewing in Philadelphia. After relocating to a multi-story plant near 10th and Callowhill Streets, the brewery grew into one of the city's prominent operations. Following Prohibition, the business was purchased by the Brown family and reorganized as Esslinger’s, Inc. Demonstrating an appetite for packaging innovation, Esslinger’s became the first brewery in Philadelphia to sell beer in cans. It survived into the postwar era as one of the city's "Final Four" independent regional breweries alongside Schmidt’s, Gretz, and Ortlieb’s. Facing severe consolidation headwinds, the company changed hands in 1961, and local operations came to an end after Jacob Ruppert acquired the brand in 1964.

Within breweriana collecting, early 1950s Esslinger cans are celebrated centerpieces of mid-century East Coast packaging. The cheerful waiter mascot and minute printing variations, such as the metallic gold date notice, make this can a classic document of Philadelphia's rich industrial brewing heritage.