Gettelman Milwaukee Beer Flat Top Can

Gettelman Milwaukee Beer Flat Top Can

This mid-century 12-ounce flat top can represents one of the most recognizable graphic packages issued for Gettelman Milwaukee Beer. The front panel highlights the brand's mascot, Fritzie, wearing his trademark Tyrolean hat and holding a foamy pilsner glass in front of a mid-century interior featuring a rabbit-ear television set. Along the bottom rim, the can displays the catchy promotional phrase "GET...GET...GETTELMAN". While depicted in its standard flat top steel configuration, documented examples also exist where this same graphic design was converted into a drinking cup.

The Brand

Gettelman Milwaukee Beer served as the brewery's primary popular-priced offering during the mid-20th century, complementing premium line-mates such as Gettelman $1,000 Beer and Milwaukee's Best. In the 1940s and 1950s, the company launched an aggressive, lighthearted advertising campaign built around the mascot Fritzie and memorable slogans like "Let's Have a Beer!" and "Get... Get... Gettelman". Gettelman was also an early regional adopter of commercial television, becoming the first Milwaukee brewery to sponsor a local broadcast program in 1947. The brand maintained strong regional loyalty until its eventual phase-out in the early 1970s following corporate acquisition.

The Brewery

A. Gettelman Brewing Company traced its roots to 1856, when Adam Gettelman took over a brewery site on Milwaukee's west side along the Menomonee Valley. Though it was smaller than local brewing titans like Pabst, Schlitz, Blatz, and Miller, Gettelman built a reputation for innovation. During and shortly after Prohibition, brewery leader Fritz Gettelman patented multiple inventions, including high-speed snowplows and the commercial stainless steel beer keg manufactured by A.O. Smith. Survived through post-repeal expansion, the family brewery was acquired in 1961 by neighboring Miller Brewing Company, which operated the plant for another decade before integrating the facilities.

Collecting Context

Cans from A. Gettelman Brewing Company are staples of classic Wisconsin and Milwaukee breweriana collections. Character cans from the 1950s that feature mid-century pop culture elements—such as vintage television sets and classic cartoon mascots—are particularly sought after by collectors of thematic advertising art.