Regal Amber Beer Flat Top Can

San Francisco's Pre-War Classic

The Regal Amber Beer flat top can represents an iconic piece of West Coast brewing heritage, produced by the Regal Amber Brewing Company located on 20th Street in San Francisco's Mission District. During the mid-to-late 1930s, Regal Amber grew to become one of California's largest brewing operations, distributing canned products across the Pacific Coast.

The can is celebrated among breweriana enthusiasts for its bold, clean design emblematic of late 1930s graphic trends, featuring solid-colored panels and typography where the word "Beer" shares visual prominence with the brand name. The side and reverse panels feature opening instruction illustrations alongside period-mandatory internal revenue tax markings.

Among collectors, the can is famous for a well-documented discovery in 1978, when a contractor remodeling a home in San Francisco's Alamo Square neighborhood uncovered a hidden half-case tucked away inside a ceiling. Such discoveries brought preserved examples of the can to light decades after the brewery shifted its primary branding focus toward the Regal Pale label.

Multiple variations of the label exist among preserved examples, differing in patent wording, opening instruction graphics, and border accents. The brand holds a cherished spot in West Coast breweriana, standing as a hallmark of San Francisco's bustling post-Repeal brewing era.