Regal Select Genuine Draft 12 Oz Tab/Insert Top Can

Maier Regal Select Genuine Draft Can

This straight-steel twelve-ounce can was produced by the Maier Brewing Company of Los Angeles, California, during the mid-1960s transition into self-opening container formats. The packaging highlights an illustrated stemmed chalice brimming with a foaming head of beer, boldly overlaid with the red lettering "GENUINE" above "DRAFT BEER." Across the top rim, the label bears the brand's signature slogan, "RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF AMERICA'S TWO GREAT BEERS." In collector documentation, the insert top variation is cataloged and pictured, whereas an equivalent standard tab top version remains undocumented in standard listings.

Regal Select evolved out of the historic Regal brand lineage that originated in Northern California before Maier acquired and expanded the label in Southern California during the early 1960s. Positioned as an accessible, high-volume regional lager, Regal Select was aggressively marketed throughout California and neighboring western states. The brand leaned heavily into its cheeky slogan, playfully implying its standing alongside America's undisputed top beer without ever naming the rival. When the mid-1960s packaging trend popularized draft-style beer in consumer cans, Maier capitalized on the movement by adding "Genuine Draft" to its Regal Select lineup.

Maier Brewing Company was one of the foundational institutions of Southern California brewing. Established in Los Angeles when Bavarian immigrant Joseph Maier partnered with George Zobelein in 1882 to acquire the Philadelphia Brewery, the operation became the Maier Brewing Company following Maier's death. The brewery weathered Prohibition through the manufacture of cereal beverages and commercial ice, quickly resuming full production upon Repeal. In 1958, industrialist Paul Kalmanovitz acquired the brewery, turning it into a powerhouse of contract brewing, supermarket labels, and regional value brands. Maier operated its landmark Los Angeles plant until the brand portfolio was folded into the General Brewing Company in the early 1970s.

For breweriana enthusiasts, this can represents the mid-century race among regional brewers to adapt draught beer marketing into canned formats. It remains an evocative artifact of mid-1960s California packaging and the final independent era of Los Angeles brewing history.