Silver Fox Premium Beer Flat Top Can

Chicago Flat Top from Peter Fox

The Silver Fox Premium Beer flat top can is a 12-ounce mid-century container produced for the Peter Fox Brewing Company of Chicago, Illinois. Originating from the 1940s, this can features an internal revenue tax statement indicative of its production era. The face of the can features an arched oval border framing the brand name in Gothic lettering, declaring the beverage "The Nation's Premium Beer" alongside the brewery statement reading "Brewed and Filled by Peter Fox Brewing Co., Chicago, Ill., U.S.A."

Peter Fox introduced the Silver Fox label alongside its flagship Fox De Luxe brand to compete directly in the higher-tier lager segment. Marketed with the slogan "The Nation's Premium Beer," the brand was promoted through print campaigns and tavern displays across regional territories in the Midwest and neighboring states. While Fox De Luxe served as the company's volume driver, Silver Fox provided an upscale alternative within the brewery's portfolio throughout the 1930s and 1940s before being phased out prior to the brewery's closure.

The Peter Fox Brewing Company was established in 1933 following the repeal of Prohibition, occupying the former Hoffman Brothers Brewing Company facility on West Monroe Street in Chicago. Capitalizing on the growing demand for packaged beer, the business expanded substantially over the following decade, establishing and acquiring additional brewing facilities in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Marion, Indiana. Despite strong regional popularity during and immediately following World War II, Peter Fox Brewing faced mounting pressure from national shipping breweries and consolidation across the industry, leading to the permanent closure of the Chicago plant in 1955.

For breweriana collectors, this can serves as an evocative piece of mid-century Midwestern brewing history. Flat top cans from independent Chicago breweries reflect the vibrant post-Prohibition packaging era, making them enduring favorites among vintage can enthusiasts.