State Fair Premium Beer Flat Top Can

Shamokin's State Fair Flat Top

This 12-ounce flat top can represents State Fair Premium Beer, produced by the Fuhrmann & Schmidt Brewing Company of Shamokin, Pennsylvania. What distinguishes this container is the illustrated border of historical transportation vignettes framing the prominent blue shield emblem. Rendered in blue linework across the white body, the artwork depicts vintage travel milestones, including an early biplane, a multi-masted clipper ship, a hot air balloon, and classic ground transport. The side panel features the mandatory statement verifying the twelve-fluid-ounce volume and Shamokin packing location.

Introduced in the early 1960s, State Fair served as a regional brand within Fuhrmann & Schmidt’s lineup. Marketed primarily across central and eastern Pennsylvania, the brand drew upon nostalgic Americana to appeal to working-class tavern patrons. Fuhrmann & Schmidt packaged both beer and ale under the State Fair moniker during this era, though the label enjoyed a relatively short production run before being phased out as the regional beer market evolved.

The brewery itself held deep roots in Pennsylvania’s Anthracite Coal Region. Tracing its heritage back to the founding of Eagle Brewing in the 1850s, the company was reorganized as the Fuhrmann & Schmidt Brewing Company in 1906. The operation was forced to halt brewing during Prohibition, but it promptly resumed production in 1933 following repeal. For decades, F&S beers were staple refreshments in mining towns across Northumberland County. In 1966, Philadelphia’s Henry F. Ortlieb Brewing Company acquired the brewery, maintaining production in Shamokin until the plant finally shuttered in the mid-1970s.

Among breweriana enthusiasts, this flat top can is a desirable piece of mid-century Pennsylvania brewing history. The can is favored for its detailed thematic illustrations, offering a distinct visual departure from the brewery's standard corporate labeling.