Regal Lager Beer Flat Top Can

Regal Lager Detroit Flat Top History

The Regal Lager Beer Flat Top Can represents a notable artifact from Detroit's post-Prohibition brewing landscape. Produced for the Regal Brewing Company of Detroit, Michigan, the can reflects the rapid evolution of early beverage packaging in the mid-1930s.

Prior to entering commercial brewing, Regal operated as a supplier of liquid malt extract used for baking and home preparation. Following the repeal of Prohibition, the company established a brewery operation in Detroit and began packaging both lager and ale. In 1936, Regal partnered with the National Can Company to can its flagship lager, making it one of the few regional Midwestern breweries to adopt National Can's early flat top design and proprietary opening instruction panels.

Regal operated on a modest scale in an increasingly competitive Detroit market. In early 1937, the company was absorbed by Detroit's Ekhardt & Becker Brewing Company, bringing an end to independent Regal canning operations. Because of this brief production window, surviving Regal Lager cans are regarded as significant historical pieces among Michigan breweriana collectors and historians of early canned beer.

Variations exist among surviving examples, displaying slight differences in side-panel regulatory statements, mandatory factory markings, and text formatting.