BEER CAN HISTORY.
 
 
 

Englishman, Rob Barrow has written an excellent article on the history of beer cans from the first cans filled and sold in Wales in 1935 up until the 50th anniversary of beer cans in 1985. To read this historical article please click on the link below.
 


 
 
 
The World's FIRST Beer Can

 The "official" birthday of the beer can is January 24, 1935. That's the day cans of Krueger's Finest Beer and Krueger's Cream Ale first went on sale in Richmond, VA.
But the beer can really made its debut some 14 months earlier - just before the repeal of Prohibition. American Can Company had engineered a workable beer can. All that was needed was a brewer willing to take the pioneering plunge. The Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company of Newark, NJ signed on the dotted line in November 1933.

By the end of that month, American had installed a temporary canning line and delivered 2,000 Krueger's Special Beer cans, which were promptly filled with 3.2% Krueger beer - the highest alcohol content allowed at the time. Krueger's Special Beer thus became the world's first beer can.

The 2,000 cans of beer were given to faithful Krueger drinkers; 91% gave it thumbs up, and 85% said it tasted more like draft than bottled beer. Reassured by this successful test, Krueger gave canning the green light, and history was made.

A photo of two Krueger Special cans appeared in the December 28, 1933 issue of Brewer's News, but no current example has been positively verified to exist. The can on the left surfaced briefly in 1985, but its whereabouts remain unknown. The can on the right was recreated digitally. 

Article reproduced courtesy of the
Beer Can Collectors Of America Website.