Old Tap Brand Select Stock Ale Cone Top Can

Old Tap Select Stock Ale Cone Top

This twelve-ounce high-profile cone top represents the mid-twentieth-century canning output of the Enterprise Brewing Company in Fall River, Massachusetts. Manufactured by the Continental Can Company, the container includes the Internal Revenue Tax Paid (IRTP) statement along the lower trim, dating its production between the late 1930s and the elimination of mandatory federal tax phrasing in 1950. The can's front design centers around a scalloped black-bordered cartouche that frames traditional blackletter typography for the "Old Tap" and "Ale" titles, offset by red cursive script for "Select Stock" and flanked by illustrative ears of wheat.

Enterprise Brewing introduced the Old Tap marque following the repeal of Prohibition in 1933 to serve distributors throughout southeastern New England. Positioned as a full-flavored, cellar-conditioned stock ale, Old Tap Select Stock Ale was marketed alongside the brewery's companion lines, including Old Tap Bohemian Lager, Old Tap Porter, and Clyde Cream Ale. The brand emphasized heritage and robust character to appeal to working-class patrons in Massachusetts and Rhode Island taverns. Old Tap remained a core staple in the brewery's portfolio throughout the 1930s and 1940s before brand consolidation transformed the postwar market.

Originating in 1894, the Enterprise Brewing Company established itself as an essential part of Fall River's industrial landscape, which was then driven by a booming textile industry. Before Prohibition, the facility was absorbed into the Old Colony Breweries consortium. When brewing was re-legalized, the enterprise reopened independently at its Glasgow Street plant. Enterprise persevered through war-era material shortages and intense local rivalries, but rising pressure from heavily advertised national brands ultimately led to the brewery's closure in the 1960s.

Cans from southeastern New England breweries represent a celebrated niche in breweriana collecting. Because regional Massachusetts producers generated a smaller volume of cone top packaging relative to national competitors, mid-century examples from Fall River remain sought-after pieces of regional brewing history.