Highlander Premium Beer Flat Top Can

Classic Montana Highlander Flat Top

This 12-ounce flat top can from the 1950s features one of the most recognizable graphic designs from Montana brewing history. Framed by vivid red-and-black Scottish tartan plaid bands along the top and bottom rims, the central white label displays the flowing "Highlander" script accentuated by metallic silver drop shadows. Above the brand name sits the confident slogan "NONE FINER—ANYWHERE," while the bottom margin identifies the contents as brewed and filled by the Missoula Brewing Company of Missoula, Montana. Variations of this design circulate among collectors, differentiated by subtle printing details such as the presence or absence of metallic silver shading beneath the primary lettering.

The Highlander brand originated in 1910, when the brewery reportedly obtained permission to adopt the name from the New York Highlanders baseball team shortly before the club was renamed the New York Yankees. Highlander quickly established itself as a regional staple, marketed widely across the northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest. The brand achieved broader cultural immortality through Norman Maclean's novella A River Runs Through It, which warmly recounted chilling Highlander beer directly in the cold waters of the Blackfoot River.

The brewery traced its roots to 1895, when it was established as the Garden City Brewing Company at the foot of Waterworks Hill. After shutting down commercial brewing during Prohibition, the plant reorganized and reopened as the Missoula Brewing Company in 1933, becoming the first brewery in Montana to secure licensing following Repeal. The company spent a period under the ownership of brewing magnate Emil Sick before returning to local executive management. Missoula Brewing remained an independent regional favorite until 1964, when pressure from national conglomerates and the construction of Interstate 90 forced the plant to close and be razed.

Highlander flat tops occupy an important place in Pacific Northwest and Big Sky breweriana collections. The tartan patterning and distinct vintage typography make this can an enduring emblem of Montana's pre-consolidation brewing industry.