Old Imperial Beer Crowntainer

Old Imperial Beer Crowntainer

This 12-ounce container features the classic drawn-steel Crowntainer construction manufactured by Crown Cork & Seal. Originating in the post-World War II era, the design presents an off-white cream backdrop framed at the top and bottom by deep burgundy bands accented with diamond and floral motifs. Directly above the prominent, slanted cursive brand script sits the regional declaration "THE PRIDE OF WISCONSIN," bounded by decorative saw-tooth borders.

Following the repeal of Prohibition, Old Imperial was introduced in the early 1930s as the brewery's primary flagship pale lager. Positioned as a proud local brew for the northern and eastern Wisconsin markets, Old Imperial was promoted across taverns and groceries with lighted signs, tap handles, and point-of-sale displays emphasizing its Wisconsin heritage. It anchored the company's product line for nearly two decades before the company shifted its primary packaging focus toward its eponymous Rahr's Beer brand in the 1950s.

The brewery traced its origins to 1866, when German immigrant Henry Rahr established the East River Brewery in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Operating for decades as Henry Rahr's Sons, the business grew into the largest brewing operation in Green Bay and one of northeastern Wisconsin's leading industrial operations. The firm survived national Prohibition through non-alcoholic products and was reorganized upon Repeal in 1933 as the Rahr-Green Bay Brewing Corporation. The postwar years saw plant modernization and temporary surges in regional demand, particularly when Green Bay beer filled distributor shortages during major Milwaukee brewery strikes in the 1950s. However, intensified competition from expanding national brewers eroded market share during the 1960s, culminating in the sale of the business to the Oshkosh Brewing Company in 1966, which closed the historic facility exactly one hundred years after its founding.

Regional Crowntainers from independent Midwestern packaging lines hold enduring appeal among breweriana collectors. As artifacts of Green Bay's pre-consolidation brewing tradition, containers from Rahr-Green Bay represent a celebrated era of Wisconsin's local beverage history.