Old German Brand Premium Lager Beer Flat Top Can

Queen City's Old German Flat Top

The Old German Brand Premium Lager Beer flat top can represents the flagship offering of the Queen City Brewing Company, based in Cumberland, Maryland. Originally founded in 1901 as the German Brewing Company, the firm operated out of its historic facility along Wills Creek on Market Street. During World War II, anti-German sentiment prompted the brewery to officially rename itself Queen City Brewing Company, though it retained its popular regional lager under the Old German label.

The can design prominently displays the Old German coat of arms alongside classic heraldic detailing, bold typography, and the long-standing promotional tagline, "The World Knows No Finer Lager." A central fixture of the brand's mid-century marketing identity was its illustrated mascot, "Herman (the German)," a cheerful figure in traditional Alpine attire raising a foaming stein. Queen City utilized this character extensively across its regional advertising, even sponsoring a celebrated local women's softball team known across the Mid-Atlantic as the "Old German Hermanettes."

For breweriana collectors, this flat top can is a staple of Mid-Atlantic brewing history. Queen City distributed heavily throughout Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, and Ohio, becoming one of the most recognized independent operations in the Appalachian region. Cans produced during the brewery's peak output feature distinct lithography with rich red, white, and gold accents.

Collectors recognize variations in the canning text, manufacturer mandatory statements, and rim construction across different production runs. Following the closure of the Cumberland facility in 1974, the rights to the Old German brand were acquired by the Pittsburgh Brewing Company, marking the end of Cumberland-canned originals and cementing this flat top as an enduring piece of Western Maryland industrial heritage.