Sick's Select Lager Beer Flat Top Can

Seattle's Iconic Mid-Century Can

Produced by the historic Seattle Brewing & Malting Co. in Seattle, Washington, the Sick's Select Lager Beer flat top represents a defining chapter of Pacific Northwest brewing history. Named after prominent brewing magnate Emil Sick—who built an extensive brewing empire across the region and also owned the Seattle Rainiers baseball club—Sick's Select served as a flagship label alongside other prominent Northwest brews.

The can features mid-century graphic design dominated by bold branding and the signature Sick's heraldic crest. Manufactured on standard steel flat tops primarily by the American Can Company, these cans circulated widely across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska.

Among breweriana enthusiasts, Sick's Select cans from the Seattle plant hold significant historical appeal due to their connection to mid-20th-century canning developments and wartime supply logistics. Production runs captured the shifting landscape of federal labeling mandates and military contracts. Certain runs included instructional opening panels on the sides, while others bore Internal Revenue Tax Paid statements. Notably, Seattle Brewing & Malting produced export batches labeled "Withdrawn Free of Internal Revenue Tax" for shipment to armed forces overseas, including olive drab military versions intended to reduce visual reflection in field environments.

Several design variations are known to exist across different production batches, distinguishable by differences in mandatory brewery text, side-panel instructional graphics, and tax statements. The can's lore in collector circles grew further when uncut factory flat sheets from the era surfaced years later and were preserved into rolled examples. Today, this flat top stands as a quintessential artifact of Seattle's mid-century brewing legacy.