Koenig Brau Premium Beer Quart

Chicago's Koenig Brau Quart Cone Top

This 32-fluid-ounce quart cone top can represents a classic piece of mid-century packaging from the Internal Revenue Tax Paid (IRTP) era. Notable for the detailed black hop cluster illustration nestled below the primary lettering, the can displays the required "INTERNAL REVENUE TAX PAID" statutory wording along its lower rim alongside the fluid volume statement. The central design is anchored by an ornate royal crown crest resting atop an oval cartouche, while the lower red band marks the package as brewed and filled by the Prima-Bismarck Brewing Company of Chicago, Illinois.

Translating from German to mean "King's Brew," Koenig Brau was formulated to evoke Old World Bavarian brewing prestige. Marketed as a full-flavored, premium lager, the brand was distributed across taverns, grocers, and package stores throughout the greater Chicagoland area and neighboring Midwestern markets. The 32-ounce quart cone was promoted as an economical, shareable option for home gatherings and social events. Koenig Brau remained one of the brewery's flagship labels through the 1940s until production ceased with the plant's closure.

The Prima-Bismarck Brewing Company emerged in 1941 from the consolidation of two prominent Chicago brewing heritages. Its operations were centered at a historic multi-building brewing plant located along Archer Avenue on Chicago's South Side, a complex dating back to the late nineteenth-century Citizens Brewing Company. Operating through the supply shortages and grain quotas of World War II, Prima-Bismarck maintained strong local loyalty. However, the post-war expansion and aggressive advertising budgets of national shipping breweries proved insurmountable for mid-sized urban operations, leading to the brewery's permanent closure in 1951.

Quart cone tops from Chicago's bustling post-repeal brewing scene are highly regarded among breweriana collectors. Because quart cans were manufactured in far smaller quantities than standard twelve-ounce containers, surviving examples represent a distinct window into mid-century packaging design. Koenig Brau quarts attract collector interest due to the subtle variations that appeared across printings, such as shifting alcohol content lines, differing mandatory text formats, and variations in the coloration of the hop cluster emblem.