Gretz Beer Cone Top Can

Philadelphia's Gretz Beer Cone Top

Produced by the Wm. Gretz Brewing Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Gretz Beer cone top can represents an iconic piece of mid-century East Coast brewing heritage. Located in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood at Germantown Avenue and Oxford Street, Gretz established itself as a regional powerhouse during the canned beer era, fiercely competing against national brewing giants.

The can features the classic Gretz graphic identity, famously associated with the brewery's long-running "Made the Old Fashioned Way" promotional campaign. Gretz was renowned for its memorable marketing, including animated billboards in Philadelphia featuring a cyclist pedaling an antique high-wheel bicycle. The brewery also broke new ground in broadcast advertising, becoming an early adopter of local television sponsorship with variety programming like The Gretz Cavalcade of Girls.

For breweriana collectors, the Gretz Beer cone top holds notable historical interest. Gretz was among the pioneering Philadelphia breweries to invest heavily in packaged cans, which allowed the regional operation to outsell national competitors in the local market for years. Among collectors, several variations of the Gretz cone top are documented, displaying subtle differences in mandatory text, canning marks, and side-panel labeling across different production batches. Its bold crimson and cream lithography paired with the classic profile makes it a sought-after staple of Pennsylvania brewing history.