Richbrau Premium Beer Flat Top Can

Richbrau Premium Flat Top

The Richbrau Premium Beer flat top can holds a notable place in American breweriana due to its connection with Richmond, Virginia, and the Home Brewing Company. While Richmond served as the historic test market where canned beer was first introduced to the public in 1935, Home Brewing Company held off for years before finally adopting modern canning lines and packaging its flagship Richbrau brand into flat top cans.

Manufactured by prominent can makers of the era, such as the American Can Company (featuring the "Keglined" trademark) and Continental Can Company, the Richbrau flat top prominently displays the brewery's coat of arms and bold, classic branding. Home Brewing Company, established in the late 19th century, was a key regional institution in Virginia brewing until its eventual closure in the late 1960s.

Collectors recognize several variations of this can. Differences across production runs include changes between metallic silver surfaces and enameled backgrounds, alternate color schemes on the central lettering, and distinct state tax lids, including Virginia vanity lids. Because Home Brewing Company remained deeply tied to local distribution, this flat top stands as a quintessential artifact of Mid-Atlantic brewing history.