After 11 days of fasting posts , I thought you might deserve a different topic. Don’t worry, I will finish properly my diary about the fasting. But this Tuesday I take the opportunity to have a break in themes.

On Tuesday the 24th of January, each year, will be BEER CAN DAY. I was surprised to learn about this day and asked myself why and who and how and why this day and… Of course I digged deeper and here are all the answers I found out.

  The  metamorphosis  from nature to nature.

Beer Can Day.

Beer, we’re all familiar with it. There are advertisements for it on TV, it’s a hallmark of gatherings on the tailgate and the quintessential go to for after-work relaxation. With its ancient heritage and pedigree, beer has been produced, sold, and bottled by cultures all over the world since time out of mind.

   Old beer trade card.   Click on pics to supersize.

During that time, different methods of bottling it have been discovered, and making each vintage stand out from the rest has been paramount. Beer Can Day is here to remind you of the artistry and talent that goes into those simple aluminum cans that hold this precious elixir of life.  Almost every day we have contact to a tin can, but don’t realize anymore why, how and who it all started .

     Beautiful collectors item, this vintage beer can.

History of Beer Can Day.

Beer has been one of the staples of health and diet for thousands of years, and there are those who say that access to Beer is one of the reasons that the slaves of Egypt were able to build those huge pyramids. The ability to preserve calories and not rot cannot be underestimated!

  Egyptian wooden model of beer making.

While back then the beverage was held in clay vessels, the container of choice today is the aluminum can. This tradition was first started in 1935, and on the heels of it came a never ending parade of varieties of labeling.

From the serious to the comical, there’s no limit to what a label might contain. Beer can collectors all over the world have built sizable collections demonstrating the length and scope of artistic talent of beer can designers all over the world. It’s not just the art either!

The technical innovations that have changed over the ages are also appreciated, from the first cans that had to be opened with a church key to modern cans that can be popped with just a pull of the thumb. That delightful hiss is always there to herald in the beginning of a great afternoon.

  Australian beer can collection.

How to celebrate Beer Can Day ?

Your appreciation can start simple with a visit to your local grocery store. Beer of all varieties can be found on every shelf, and a close look will tell you that labeling is serious business. Beer cans come in every variety you can imagine, including those put out by bands.

For some real variety, you can go to a collectors convention or even just pop over to a proper alcohol dealer to really get a spread. Once you finish admiring the can, pop it open and enjoy the cool brew inside!

  The Beer Can House in Houston, Texas.   The Can House was build by retired railway worker John Milkovisch from 1968 to 1988 with more than 50,000 beer cans. 

History of the Beer Can.

There is much more to say or write then I can do with my little blog, but a list of dates and some important stages will do. Here is a list of important dates in the history of our favorite beer package!

1909: A brewer in Montana approaches American Can Company about canning beer, but it is not feasible at this time.
1917: As part of the war effort for World War One, use of grains in brewing is severally restricted in order to save the grain for food. Many states begin statewide prohibition during the war.

  Prohibition begins.

1919: Woodrow Wilson vetoes the Volstead Act (which enforces national prohibition). His veto is over-ridden. The Volstead Act defines an alcoholic beverage as one containing 1/2 of 1 percent of alcohol, which eliminates even light beers and wines.
1920: National Prohibition Begins.
1928:  Anheuser-Busch, Schlitz, and Pabst experiment with canning  beer.

  All the beer has to go.

1933 (April 7): Prohibition law modified to allow for light beer (3.2%) while states consider the 21st amendment which repeals the 18th amendment, thereby officially ending Prohibition.
1933 (November): Krueger’s tests 2,000 cans of 3.2% beer and gets a positive reaction.
1933 (December 5): The 21st amendment to the US Constitution is ratified when Utah becomes the 36th state to approve it. Prohibition officially ends.

  Prohibition ends.

1935 (January 24th): the first beer cans, flat tops filled with Krueger’s Ale and Krueger’s Beer, are sold in Richmond, Virginia. Canned beer is an immediate success!

         The first Krueger Beer Cans from 1935.   On the rear side the introduction how to open them.

  A younger, more modern,  copy (see the men’s head) of Krueger beer can sells at ebay for US$ 450,–. Collectors are keen on it.

1935 (July): Tru-Blue Beer and Ale appears in cans made by National Can Company, the second canning company to enter the market.
1935 (August): The first major brewer to can beer is Pabst, but they sell „Export“ beer and not „Pabst Blue Ribbon“ at first.

  Old Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer Can.

1935 (September): Schlitz appears in the first cone-top can made by Continental Can Company, the third can company to enter the fray.
1935 (October): Heekin Can Company of Cincinnati Ohio convinces the local Burger Brewing to try a 252 ounce (1/16 bbl) can. The experiment is short-lived and only two examples of the can survived.
1935 (November): First non-US brewers use cans, Felinfoel and Tennents appear in the UK in cone-tops.

1936: First 32 ounce quart beer cans.
1936 (September): Continental’s cone-tops switch from flat bottom to concave bottom.

    Beer cans are much sought after collectors items. The most expensive beer can, from 1936, offered on ebay at the moment for US$ 6.999,99 !!

1937: Crown Cork and Seal introduce „J“ Spout cone top cans. CC&S is the 4th can company to compete, not counting Heekin’s aborted attempt.
1938: Birth of the six pack, probably by Ballantine. Larger packages are deemed to be too heavy for the average housewife buying beer at the grocery store and Coca-Cola was already being sold in units of six. Some Canadian brands may have been sold in 6-packs of bottles already by this time as well.

      Wisconsin fisher man found 60 year old Budweiser six-pack in the river.

1939: The last year in which draught beer outsold packaged beer (cans and bottles). After 1939 most beer was sold in bottles and cans, a large part intended for home consumption.
1940: Crowntainer introduced by Crown Cork and Seal replacing the „J“ Spout. The crowntainer is the first 2-piece (as opposed to 3 piece) can.
1942 (May 31): Canning of beer for civilian use ends. Breweries may use existing stocks of cans.
1944: Canning of beer in olive drab cans for military use begins: 35 larger breweries spread around the country were chosen to can beer for the military.

  Old beer cans, 4 of them are „crowntainers“.

1947: Canning beer for civilian sales resumes.
March 1950: Brewers no longer have to put the „I. R. Tax Paid“  statement on cans.
1954 (June): Schlitz introduces 16 ounce flat top can.
1958: First aluminum can in US, 11 ounce Primo Beer from Hawaii.

   Old Primo beer cans.

1959 (October): Coors starts using 7 ounce all aluminum cans.
1960: Last conetop cans filled for Rice Lake Brewing Company.
1960: Schlitz introduces aluminum top on steel cans, the „SoftTop“ can.
1962 (March): Iron City beer tests the first pop top (pull tab) cans in Virginia.
1963 (March): Schlitz starts using pop top cans.
1965: Ring top cans appear.

  Pop Top display from the Budweiser museum.

1969: Canned beer outsells bottled beer for the first time.
1970: Beer Can Collectors of America (BCCA) founded in St. Louis.
1974: Push button cans introduced. They did not last long more than a couple of years due to customer difficulties in pressing down the little buttons to open the cans.

  Beer can collectors around the world. This is from the well known can collection in Dunsmuir, California. So well known for Mt.Shasta or the Mossbrae Falls.

1975: Falls City Brewing, Louisville, introduces „StaTab“ cans.

One collectors story:
1975 (Summer): „The college kid who lived behind my folk’s house in West Carrollton,Ohio has a party and I find a 25 ounce (750ml) Foster’s Lager can on the back lawn the next day. My beer can collection begins!“  That’s how it can happen.

Finally a few pics of mine. Above left one of my favorite beer cans – FAXE 10%, 1liter can ! From Denmark and the beer tastes fantastic. The others are from Australia. Aussies don’t like beer glasses, as the Germans or Belgium’s do, they love to drink directly out of the can or the small bottle, called „stubbie“. Therefore they need a „stubbie holder“, or better can holder (a foam cooler). As you can see, all kinds of advertising is possible.

Hope you had a few cans celebrating this „birthday“ of the famous beer can !

Appendix:

Hi everyone. You were right, that’s „Castlemaine’s – 4 X“, a 4X advertising postcard I had still in my files. You can see the XXXX beer can at the far right.  Nice Australian humor !