Tudor Premium Quality Beer Flat Top Can

Tudor Flat Top Can by Century

The Tudor Premium Quality Beer Flat Top Can represents an interesting era in mid-century American contract brewing. Tudor served as the house label for the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) grocery chain. To supply stores efficiently across regional markets, A&P contracted regional facilities across the country to package beer and ale under the Tudor banner.

Among these producers was the Century Brewery Corporation of Norfolk, Virginia. Century operated out of a prominent brewhouse at Church Street and Washington Avenue, a site that had previously served breweries such as Consumers Brewing and Jacob Ruppert. Century specialized in packaging value labels and supermarket house brands, frequently operating under designated corporate aliases, including the Tudor Brewing Company.

The can design features mid-century graphic elements, highlighted by the classic Tudor knight helmet emblem and metallic enamel coloring. Because Century distributed across the Mid-Atlantic and southeastern regions, specimens are found with regional state tax lids, such as North Carolina tax stamps. Known variations exist showing differences in mandatory brewery trade name statements, can manufacturer markings from companies like Continental Can and American Can, and minor text shifts on the side panels.

Today, cans bearing the Norfolk, Virginia brewery designation remain sought after by collectors interested in Virginia breweriana and mid-century grocery store private labels.