Fitger's Natural Beer Cone Top Can

Fitger's Natural Beer Cone Top Can

This twelve-ounce cone top can represents the mid-twentieth-century canning output of the Fitger Brewing Company. Featuring an Internal Revenue Tax Paid statement on its mandatory labeling, the can dates from the classic era of early canned beer packaging following the repeal of Prohibition. The front label is centered around a gold heraldic shield framed against a rich red background, accented with the brewery's trademark five-pointed star emblem and bold typography.

Marketed under the slogan "Naturally Better!", Fitger's Natural Beer was promoted as a pure, traditionally crafted brew. The upper can face proudly proclaims "Brewed in Duluth Since 1881," appealing to regional loyalty and decades of established brewing tradition. Fitger positioned Natural Beer alongside its other notable regional labels, including Rex and Nordlager, serving consumer markets across northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, and Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

The Fitger Brewing Company traced its lineage back to an early Duluth brewing venture established along Brewery Creek in the late 1850s. In 1881, Michael Fink built a new brewhouse on East Superior Street overlooking Lake Superior, partnering shortly thereafter with German-trained brewmaster August Fitger. Fitger took over ownership in the mid-1880s and formally incorporated the Fitger Brewing Company in 1906. The company weathered Prohibition by pivoting to non-alcoholic beverages, soda water, and candy. Following repeal, Fitger resumed brewing and modernized its plant, maintaining strong local popularity until national brewing consolidation forced the facility to close in 1972. Today, the preserved brewery complex is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Among breweriana enthusiasts, this cone top is an evocative artifact from the heyday of independent regional brewing in the Upper Midwest. Cans from Lake Superior's North Shore hold lasting appeal for collectors dedicated to vintage mid-century graphic packaging and Great Lakes industrial history.