Milwaukee's Best Beer Flat Top Can

Gettelman Division Flat Top Era

This twelve-ounce flat top can represents a notable mid-century transitional period for the Milwaukee's Best brand. The front display features the bold red shield and central beer stein illustration, anchored by the prominent declaration "Brewed in Milwaukee" along the lower rim. The mandatory manufacturing text identifies the producer as Gettelman, Div. of Miller in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, distinguished by its specific abbreviations of divisional, company, and state designations that reflect the immediate post-merger era.

First introduced in 1895 by the A. Gettelman Brewing Company, Milwaukee's Best originated as a regional offering crafted to compete with the city's established German-style lagers. Gettelman kept distribution relatively close to home for decades, focusing on the local market. Following the acquisition by Miller, the brand was retained and gradually transformed into a prominent national economy label, eventually spawning popular extensions such as Light and Ice.

The brewery traced its roots to 1856, when brewmaster George Schweickhart established the Menomonee Brewery in Milwaukee's Menomonee River Valley. Schweickhart took on his son-in-law Adam Gettelman as a partner in 1871, and by 1887 the business was formally incorporated as the A. Gettelman Brewing Company. Known as the smallest of Milwaukee's historic "Big Five" brewing powerhouses—alongside Pabst, Schlitz, Blatz, and Miller—Gettelman earned renown through innovations such as the steel keg and promotional campaigns like its "$1,000 Beer" pure-ingredient challenge. Gettelman survived Prohibition by selling near-beer and diversifying into commercial ventures, returning to traditional brewing in 1933. In 1961, neighbor Miller Brewing Company purchased Gettelman, operating the facility as a divisional subsidiary through the decade.

For breweriana enthusiasts, this can serves as a tangible document of mid-century brewing consolidation. Flat tops bearing the Gettelman Division mandatory credit bridge the gap between historic family-operated Milwaukee brewing and modern corporate expansion. Subtle variations in text placement and corporate wording make these cans especially appealing to collectors studying the timeline of Wisconsin brewing artifacts.