Milwaukee's Best Beer Flat Top Can

Milwaukee's Best Flat Top History

The Milwaukee's Best Beer flat top can represents a significant chapter in the brewing heritage of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Produced by the A. Gettelman Brewing Company, this can carries a brand name originally introduced by the brewery in 1895. Gettelman occupied an important place in regional brewing history as the smallest member of Milwaukee's legendary "Big Five" breweries, competing alongside titans such as Schlitz, Pabst, Blatz, and Miller.

For breweriana collectors, this container represents the independent era of the Milwaukee's Best trademark prior to Gettelman's acquisition by the Miller Brewing Company in 1961. Although Miller later transformed Milwaukee's Best into a nationally recognized brand, these mid-century flat top cans preserve the original local identity and classic layout established by the family-operated Gettelman plant in the Menomonee Valley.

Collectors have documented multiple variations of the can, distinguished by subtle differences in the mandatory brewery text, slight graphic revisions around the central crest, and differing manufacturer marks from container producers such as the American Can Company. As a cornerstone label from one of Milwaukee's historic independent operations, this flat top remains a central piece for collectors specializing in Wisconsin brewing artifacts.