Regal Premium Beer Flat Top Can

Drewry's Regal Premium Beer Can

The Regal Premium Beer flat top can is a 12-ounce steel container produced by Drewry's Ltd. in South Bend, Indiana. This can showcases the classic heraldic branding historically tied to the label, featuring a bold red rectangular banner bordered in gold with the white serif "REGAL" nameplate. Directly above the primary banner sits a crested shield displaying the iconic "Prince Regal" mascot raising a bottle of beer, topped with a stylized gold crown. The off-white background is detailed with a repeating wallpaper pattern of small golden three-pointed crowns, while the lower section carries the prominent slogan, "New Orleans' Famous PREMIUM BEER."

Originally created and popularized by the American Brewing Company of New Orleans, Louisiana, Regal Beer was a dominant regional staple across the American South. Positioned as a flagship Southern lager, the brand became widely recognized through extensive marketing campaigns featuring its royal mascot and memorable slogans. As brewing economics shifted and mid-century industry consolidation forced the closing of many independent city breweries, production of the brand was licensed and contracted to other regional producers, including Drewry's in South Bend, which continued to market the beer with its distinctive New Orleans heritage.

Drewry's Ltd. traced its corporate heritage to Canada before establishing a major American presence in South Bend, Indiana, in 1936 at the former Muessel Brewing Company facility. Drewry's rapidly expanded into a major Midwestern powerhouse throughout the post-Prohibition and postwar periods, widely recognizable for its own flagship lines sporting a Canadian Mountie emblem. To maximize canning capacity during the 1960s, the brewery produced and packaged a variety of regional and acquired brand names. Facing mounting pressure from national brewing giants, Drewry's was acquired by the Associated Brewing Company and later G. Heileman, ultimately leading to the closure of the South Bend brewery in 1972.

For breweriana enthusiasts, this flat top can holds cross-regional appeal by linking South Bend manufacturing with classic New Orleans brewing history. The can represents a fascinating transitional period when legacy regional brands crossed geographic lines while preserving their traditional advertising iconography.