Old Reading Premium Golden Dry Beer Cone Top Can

Old Reading Premium Golden Dry Can

The Old Reading Premium Golden Dry Beer cone top can represents mid-20th-century packaging from one of eastern Pennsylvania's most prominent regional brewing operations. Constructed in a classic high-profile cone top format, the label prominently displays the red brand shield above "Premium Golden Dry" lettering. The lower half of the design features the company's cheerful cartoon mascot—a smiling, mustachioed brewer wearing an apron and vest while hoisting a frothing stein, widely recognized by collectors as "Old Gus". Anchoring the bottom of the can is a stylized floral scrollwork border reminiscent of local folk art, accompanied by the slogan "Traditionally Pennsylvania Dutch".

The Brand

Old Reading built its brand identity entirely around its regional roots in Berks County, Pennsylvania. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, the company heavily emphasized Pennsylvania Dutch heritage across advertising formats, from newspapers and matchbooks to lighted back-bar displays and serving trays. The "Golden Dry" formulation was presented as a crisp, premium option designed to match post-war consumer demand for lighter lager profiles. The Old Gus character remained a constant presence throughout these campaigns, personifying traditional craftsmanship and local warmth.

The Brewery

The company traces its origin to 1886 with the founding of the Reading Brewing Company at 9th and Laurel Streets in Reading, Pennsylvania. During Prohibition, the facility stayed active by transitioning to near-beer production under the name Health Beverage Company, operating in a city widely known for keeping local taps flowing despite federal restrictions. Following the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1933, the business reorganized as The Old Reading Brewery, Inc., experiencing decades of strong regional distribution. Amid increasing competition and industry consolidation from larger national shipping breweries, the brewery underwent corporate changes in the 1960s before finally closing operations in 1976.

Collecting Context

Cone top cans from Pennsylvania's post-repeal era are highly prized by breweriana collectors. The combination of regional folk motifs, bold typographic headers, and the prominent Old Gus mascot makes this can a classic artifact of mid-century graphic packaging and regional brewing history.