Cananniversary
First canned beer goes on sale Jan. 24th, 1935
The first canned beer in the United States went on sale in Richmond, Virginia on this date in 1935. By the end of the year, 37 breweries follow the lead of that first can brewed by the Gottfried Krueger Brewery.
The American Can Co. began experimenting with canned beer in 1909. But the cans couldn’t withstand the pressure from carbonation and ‘popped a top’. Just before the end of the Prohibition in 1933, the company developed a “keg-lining” technique, coating the inside of the can the same as a keg.
Compared to glass, the cans were lightweight, cheap, and easy to stack and ship. Unlike bottles back then, you didn’t have to pay a deposit and then return the cans for a refund. By summer of 1935, Krueger was buying 180,000 cans a day from American Can, and other breweries decided to follow.
Aluminum cans, cheaper and lighter still, were introduced in 1958.
The sinlge peice aluminum can was developed and first successfully manufactured by Bill Coors at the Golden Valley Coors Can plant in 1959. It was also the impetus for widespread consumer recycling. He offered a penny a can to have them returned.:D