Rainier Beer Flat Top Can

1957 Rainier Jubilee Flat Top Can

This 12-ounce flat top can dates to 1957 and was issued by Sicks' Rainier Brewing of Seattle, Washington. Produced in a rich royal blue enamel finish, the can is part of the famed Rainier Jubilee 08 release featuring the "Party/Paul Bunyan" thematic motif. Its white and royal blue label centers on Rainier's bold, dotted red script lettermark above the word "BEER" in gold. The lower portion features detailed line artwork celebrating Pacific Northwest heritage and folk tradition, showing harvested timber floating in a river boom, rustic cabins among evergreen trees, a log chute, an Indigenous rider on horseback, and a carved totem pole.

Rainier Beer traces its roots back to 1878, when German immigrant Andrew Hemrich began brewing beer in Seattle and named it after the majestic peak overlooking the city. Positioned as an unpretentious, crisp lager for Pacific Northwest laborers, miners, and outdoorsmen, Rainier became an enduring regional icon colloquially embraced as "Vitamin R". The brand built legendary consumer loyalty through decades of spirited and humorous advertising campaigns tailored specifically to Northwestern culture. After corporate ownership changes in the late 20th century, Rainier was acquired by Pabst Brewing Company, which continues to distribute the historic label today.

The brewery's mid-century prominence was largely the creation of Emil Sick. Following the repeal of Prohibition, Sick purchased Seattle's historic Bay View brewing facility in the 1930s, founded Century Brewing, and secured the rights to revive the Rainier label. Reorganized as Sicks' Rainier Brewing, the enterprise expanded aggressively across the Pacific Northwest, maintaining major plants in both Seattle and Spokane and anchoring its Seattle headquarters with a towering neon red "R" visible across the skyline. The brewery remained independent until 1977, when it was sold to the G. Heileman Brewing Company. Successive corporate acquisitions followed, and brewing at the historic Seattle complex ultimately ceased in 1999.

For breweriana collectors, the mid-century Rainier Jubilee releases represent one of the most ambitious and beloved sets in can collecting. Spanning comic sketches, folklore, and scenes of regional recreation rendered across numerous vivid enamel color combinations, the Jubilee series stands out as an iconic testament to postwar commercial illustration.