Red Fox Ale Quart

Red Fox Ale Quart Cone Top

The Red Fox Ale quart cone top represents a classic large-format package hailing from the Internal Revenue Tax Paid (IRTP) era of the late 1930s and 1940s. Manufactured to hold 32 fluid ounces, quart cone tops offered regional packaging flexibility, allowing breweries to bottle large-format beer on existing filling lines. Along the perimeter of the center oval, the can specifies "Packed at Brewery Largay Brewing Co., Inc. Waterbury, Conn." alongside the mandatory federal tax statement, with "ONE FULL QUART" emblazoned across the lower panel. Its central artwork features an anthropomorphic fox outfitted in a tailored coat and trousers, balanced in mid-stride while carrying a serving tray bearing two filled glasses of ale.

Red Fox Ale debuted in May 1933 following the repeal of Prohibition. Company founder George Largay was an enthusiastic sportsman, inspiring the woodland character and the catchy promotional slogan, "Just what you've been hunting for!" Widely promoted throughout Connecticut and the broader Northeast through colorful point-of-sale signs and tap displays, Red Fox became the signature product of the operation. The brand survived its founding brewery's shutdown; in 1947, the recipe and rights were acquired by New York's Jacob Ruppert Brewing Company, which continued canning the Red Fox label from its Norfolk, Virginia plant into the early 1950s.

Largay Brewing Company was established in the former Hellmann Brewing Company facility on Bank Street in Waterbury, Connecticut, a historic local brewhouse that had been idled during Prohibition. Under George Largay, a pre-Prohibition brewmaster fulfilling a lifelong goal to run his own brewery, the company expanded capacity to roughly 150,000 barrels annually and supplied beer to the armed forces throughout World War II. Facing rising production expenses and fierce postwar distribution competition from dominant shipping breweries out of New York, Largay closed its doors in 1947.

Among breweriana collectors, quart cone tops are prized for their substantial scale and brief packaging window. This can stands out in New England collecting circles for its memorable character illustration and its link to Waterbury's brewing heritage.