Little King Premium Beer 12 Oz Tab Top Can

Horlacher's Little King Tab Top

This 12-ounce straight steel tab top can held Little King Premium Beer, produced by the Horlacher Brewing Company of Allentown, Pennsylvania. A distinguishing catalog detail on this release is the net contents declaration printed directly across the lower front face. Along the side rim, mandatory text identifies distribution by the King Kullen Grocery Company of Westbury, New York. The primary design is centered around the brand's playful mascot: a smiling, bespectacled figure wearing a crown and a grocery apron, caught mid-stride while waving.

Little King was created as a private-label store brand for King Kullen, the pioneering Long Island grocery company widely recognized as America's first modern supermarket chain. Mid-century supermarket chains frequently introduced proprietary beer labels to give shoppers an affordable, value-oriented option alongside rising national brands. Rather than building their own production facilities, retailers contracted established regional breweries to produce and package these exclusive house beers.

The brewing behind the brand took place at the Horlacher Brewing Company. Tracing its roots back to Frederick Horlacher in the late nineteenth century, the Allentown brewery established itself as a cornerstone of Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley brewing scene. Horlacher navigated the dry years of Prohibition by manufacturing near beer, sodas, and ice, enabling it to resume commercial brewing immediately after repeal in 1933. In the post-war era, as giant national brewing conglomerates consolidated market share, Horlacher sustained its operations by serving as a dedicated contract brewer for supermarket private labels before eventually closing its doors in 1978.

Among breweriana collectors, private-label grocery cans represent a compelling cross-section of retail marketing and independent brewing history. Cans featuring distinctive mascot illustrations, straight steel construction, and specific text placements remain popular subjects for enthusiasts documenting regional contract brewing.