Lion Beer Flat Top Can

Manhattan's Famous Lion Beer Flat Top

This 12-ounce flat top can represents the post-Prohibition era of the late 1930s, documented among early opening instruction cans. The front face features a central red oval framing a gold lion resting its paw atop a beer barrel, flanked by the phrase "New York's Famous." Notably, the artwork on the barrel itself records the exact urban location of the facility, reading "Lion Brewery of N.Y. City / Columbus Av. / 107th to 108th St. / New York" alongside an establishment date of 1850. Serving and capacity advisories such as "12 FL. OZS. SAME AS BOTTLE" and "COOL BEFORE SERVING" sit along the bottom rim, framing a design quintessential to early canned beer packaging.

Brand Heritage

Lion Beer was marketed aggressively across the New York metropolitan area as a premier local lager. Billed as "New York's Famous" brew, it highlighted its deep historical roots in the city to appeal to neighborhood taverns, dining establishments, and working-class patrons alike. In an era when canned beer was an emerging novelty, Lion transitioned its flagship draught and bottled products into tin containers to emphasize freshness and modern convenience, maintaining a strong local presence throughout the 1930s.

The Lion Brewery of New York City

The origins of the Lion Brewery trace back to the 1850s, founded by German and Swiss immigrants August Schmid and Emanuel Bernheimer in the Manhattan Valley section of the Upper West Side. Over the decades, the brewery expanded into a massive industrial complex sprawling across several city blocks along Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues. At its zenith in the late 19th century, it was one of the largest brewing enterprises in the eastern United States and even operated the adjacent Lion Park, a celebrated outdoor pleasure ground and beer garden. The brewery navigated the dry years of Prohibition and resumed brewing operations afterward, but intensifying industry consolidation and wartime pressures led to its closure in the early 1940s.

Collecting Context

Pre-World War II opening instruction flat tops from metropolitan New York hold significant appeal for breweriana collectors. Because the packaging explicitly documents the historic Manhattan street address right within the trademark crest, the can serves as both a tangible relic of early canning innovation and a scarce artifact of lost Manhattan brewing history.