Esslinger's Premium Ale Flat Top Can

Esslinger's Premium Ale Flat Top

This 12-ounce flat top container dates to the Internal Revenue Tax Paid era and prominently showcases Esslinger's iconic "Little Man" waiter mascot in mid-stride across a dark circular field, balancing a serving tray carrying two glasses and a miniature can. Along the seam, this particular version carries printing that identifies a New York distributor, distinguishing it from standard brewery-distributed issues. The face also incorporates period consumer guidance, including "COOL BEFORE SERVING" and "CONTENTS 12 FL. OZ. SAME AS BOTTLE" flanking the lower text block.

Esslinger’s Premium Ale stood as the Philadelphia company's premier top-fermented offering, brewed to cater to drinkers who favored traditional, robust malt flavors alongside the brewery's standard lagers. The centerpiece of the brand's mid-century marketing was the Little Man—a spirited, winking bellhop-style server dressed in a trim uniform. Introduced in the 1930s, the character became one of the most recognizable fixtures in mid-Atlantic advertising, appearing extensively on point-of-sale displays, tavern trays, billboards, and metal packaging across multiple decades.

Esslinger’s traces its beginnings to 1868, when German immigrant George Esslinger established his brewery at Tenth and Callowhill Streets in Philadelphia. The business grew alongside the city's expanding industrial neighborhoods, carving out a dedicated local customer base. During Prohibition, the plant survived by producing near beer and cereal beverages, allowing the company to resume brewing immediately upon Repeal in 1933. Esslinger’s subsequently modernized, adopted canning early, and flourished as one of Philadelphia's top independent regional breweries. As national shipping breweries began dominating the market in the post-war era, Esslinger's eventually ceased independent operations and was acquired by New York’s Jacob Ruppert Brewery in 1964.

Character-driven flat top cans from the mid-century era remain prime centerpieces for breweriana collectors. The combination of dynamic mascot graphics, vintage tax-paid labeling, and distinct regional distributor markings makes this piece an enduring representation of post-Repeal Philadelphia brewing heritage.