Old Tap Brand Select Stock Ale Quart

Old Tap Select Stock Ale Quart Cone

This 32-ounce quart cone top can was produced for Old Tap Brand Select Stock Ale by the Enterprise Brewing Company of Fall River, Massachusetts. Engineered in the classic high-capacity cone top format with an integrated metal spout, the container bears "TAX PAID" along the lower red accent border, dating its issue to the era of mandatory federal tax statements. The front label features prominent blackletter typography for "Old Tap" and "Ale" set within a scalloped cream-colored oval, accented by flanking stalks of grain, bold red script denoting "Select Stock," and clear "CONTENTS 1 QUART" volume markings across the upper rim.

Old Tap served as one of the primary post-Repeal offerings for Enterprise Brewing. Marketed extensively across southeastern Massachusetts and neighboring Rhode Island, the brand was positioned to appeal to regional consumers with a taste for robust, traditional ales. Enterprise advertised the brand widely in local taverns and print media alongside companion labels like Bohemian Lager, promoting it as a dependable, full-flavored beverage suited for both tavern taps and home gatherings.

Enterprise Brewing Company traces its beginnings back to 1894 on Glasgow Street in the textile manufacturing center of Fall River. After participating in the pre-Prohibition consolidation under Old Colony Breweries, the Enterprise name reemerged following the Repeal of Prohibition in 1933 to restart brewing operations at the Glasgow Street facility. Throughout the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, the plant remained a significant independent brewery in southern New England, producing brands such as Old Tap, Boh Lager, and Clyde Cream Ale. However, the postwar expansion and aggressive advertising of large national shipping breweries gradually eroded the market share of independent regional producers, leading Enterprise Brewing to close its doors in 1963.

Quart cone tops occupy a celebrated niche among breweriana enthusiasts, prized for their imposing physical stature and expansive surface area that showcases mid-century can lithography. Regional Massachusetts quarts from independent industrial centers like Fall River represent important physical remnants of New England's twentieth-century industrial and commercial history.