Guinness's Lager Beer Flat Top Can

Goebel-Brewed Guinness Lager Can

The Guinness's Lager Beer flat top can represents a notable chapter in American contract brewing history. Following the closure of Arthur Guinness Son & Co.'s domestic brewing facility in Long Island City, New York, the Irish company established a licensing and contract agreement with the Goebel Brewing Company of Detroit, Michigan. Under this partnership, Goebel was authorized to brew and package Guinness-branded beverages domestically, enabling distribution across the American market without the added expense of transatlantic shipping duties.

The label design blends traditional Guinness iconography—most prominently the classic Irish harp trademark and bold typography—with the Goebel Detroit mandatory markings.

For breweriana enthusiasts, this can serves as an interesting crossover piece linking Dublin brewing heritage with Detroit's mid-century canning legacy. Known variations exist among surviving examples, displaying subtle differences in side-panel legal phrasing, mandatory text formatting, and ink pigmentation. Because the collaborative arrangement between Guinness and Goebel was relatively short-lived, specimens produced by Goebel remain popular focal points for regional and specialty can collectors alike.