Rainier Beer Flat Top Can

Sicks' Rainier Flat Top Legacy

Produced by Sicks' Seattle Brewing & Malting Co. in Seattle, Washington, the Rainier Beer flat top can holds a prominent place in Pacific Northwest breweriana. Issued under the leadership of Emil Sick, who revitalized the historic regional brand, cans carrying the specific "Sicks' Seattle Brewing & Malting" mandatory text represent an important era in Northwest packaging history.

The Graphic Series

Rather than adhering strictly to standard corporate livery, the brewery issued celebrated thematic graphic designs, widely recognized by collectors as the Jubilee and Party series. These illustrated cans featured vibrant artwork depicting mid-century social life, outdoor recreation, Northwest scenery, and regional folklore such as Paul Bunyan. The brewery paired these vignettes with diverse metallic background colors, side-panel slogans like "Rainier for Life," and varying rim text layouts.

The Seattle Wind Tunnel Discovery

A landmark event in breweriana history directly tied to this can was the legendary "wind tunnel find". An enormous, forgotten cache of Rainier flat tops was discovered inside a decommissioned Seattle wind tunnel structure. This discovery brought thousands of preserved cans into the collecting community, significantly expanding the documentation of Sicks' graphic variations, side seams, and metallic finishes. It remains celebrated as one of the most famous finds in beer can collecting history.

Collector Variations

Cans bearing the Sicks' Seattle Brewing & Malting designation are studied extensively for production and manufacturing differences. Variations occur across American Can Company factory codes, side-seam construction styles, metallic colorways, and mandatory legal phrasings. These shifts help collectors trace the lineage of the Seattle plant prior to subsequent corporate reorganizations and facility transitions.