Hausbrau Premium Lager Beer 12 Oz Tab Top Can

Hausbrau Premium Lager Tab Top Can

This twelve-ounce tab top can represents the straight-steel canning era of the 1960s, produced by the Maier Brewing Company of Los Angeles, California. The design prominently displays a snow-capped alpine mountain peak against a bright blue sky, positioned above an arched gothic-lettered brand logotype. Below the blue band, the can transitions into a deep metallic red lower half, separated by an oval medallion reading "PREMIUM Lager BEER" anchored by a stylized crest emblem. The metallic finish on the lower band distinguishes this version within the brand's production run, which also saw printings in flat-top formats and solid enamel paints.

The Hausbrau Brand

Hausbrau was created by Maier as part of its extensive lineup of Germanic-themed value and supermarket brands. During the mid-twentieth century, regional brewers frequently developed brands with Old World imagery and German-sounding names to convey a sense of brewing tradition and quality to price-conscious consumers. Distributed across California and surrounding Western markets, Hausbrau served as an affordable everyday lager, competing on grocery shelves against both national labels and rival regional value brands before fading out as brewing economics shifted in the 1970s.

Maier Brewing Company

Established in 1875 by German immigrant Joseph Maier and partner George Zobelein, Maier Brewing Company was one of the earliest and most resilient brewing enterprises in Los Angeles. Located on East Commercial Street in downtown Los Angeles, Maier survived Prohibition by producing near-beer and non-alcoholic beverages. In the postwar era, under the management of industrialist Paul Kalmanovitz, Maier pivoted to high-volume manufacturing. While its flagship Brew 102 remained a household staple in Southern California, the brewery maintained its massive facility by packaging dozens of private labels, house brands, and contract brews until the plant closed in the 1970s.

Collecting Context

Maier's mid-century portfolio is a cornerstone of West Coast breweriana collecting. Because the brewery produced such a vast array of supermarket labels, budget brews, and short-run private label designs, cans like this metallic red Hausbrau tab top offer collectors a vivid glimpse into California's vibrant post-prohibition regional brewing landscape.