Indian Queen Ale Quart

Indian Queen Ale Quart Cone Top

This 32-ounce quart cone top was produced by the John Hohenadel Brewery Inc. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Engineered in a large quart format to cater to family tables and social gatherings, the can features an Internal Revenue Tax Paid (IRTP) tax statement. Visually, the label prominently presents the brand's long-running marketing slogan, "Well earned supremacy," arced above an illustration of a Native American maiden positioned beside the stylized capital "Q" in Queen. The lower band credits packaging and brewing directly to the John Hohenadel plant.

The Brand

The Indian Queen label took its name directly from the local geography of the East Falls neighborhood in Philadelphia, where the brewery was situated at Indian Queen Lane and Conrad Street. Positioned as a premier regional ale, the brand used Native American portraiture alongside claims of established superiority to stand out among Mid-Atlantic offerings. Over its life cycle, Indian Queen was marketed in several package formats, serving as a core label for Hohenadel throughout the post-Prohibition era until the operation's eventual closure.

The Brewery

The John Hohenadel Brewery—historically known as the Falls Brewery—had deep roots in Philadelphia's brewing community dating back into the nineteenth century. The enterprise grew into a neighborhood anchor, complete with lager vaults and a prominent family mansion in East Falls. Surviving the dry years of Prohibition by pivoting and subsequently reopening for legal production in the mid-1930s, the brewery competed vigorously against local rivals like Gretz, Esslinger, and Ortlieb. However, mounting pressure from post-war national brewing giants and industry consolidation ultimately forced the John Hohenadel Brewery to cease operations in the early 1950s.

Collecting Context

Quart cone tops occupy a revered niche in breweriana collecting due to their substantial shelf presence and their relatively brief period of widespread manufacture. Cans from mid-century Pennsylvania regional breweries—particularly graphic quart containers bearing distinctive neighborhood-inspired branding and IRTP tax markings—are widely sought after by East Coast regional specialists and cone top enthusiasts alike.