The first beer can had it’s 75th birthday recently and though I am a bottle man 95% of the time, I don’t think I have ever turned down a “can” of beer.  My father was a can man, not just in drinking them but in collecting them.  Most of his beer can collection was found in garbage dumps while hunting and fishing in TN and MN.  He still has his best finds on a narrow shelf that surrounds the ceiling of his downstairs man-cave.  Along with the cans, he has a decent collection of antique Church Keys (can or bottle opener), his 1974 Beer Can Collectors of America membership certificate #2292 which is still proudly framed on the wall, his BCCA membership directory and membership patch. A few cans from his collection and his BCCA items are shown below.

The first beer can debuted on January 24th, 1935.  Though the technology existed to produce cans strong enough to withstand the high pressures that occur during pasteurization, prohibition stymied the progress. In 1933,  just before the alcohol ban was repealed, the American Can Co. (ACCO) unveiled their “Keglined” cans which they had been experimenting with for over 20 years.  Not only where they able to stay pressurized but they were internally sealed with a non-toxic, moldable plastic called Vinylite so you wouldn’t get any metallic flavor co-mingling with your favorite brew. The other huge advantage was that cans were much lighter than bottles and therefore cheaper to move across the country + the metal being cheap, would not have to be returned. Moreover, cans offered the advertising agencies a much larger surface area to play with.

These first cans were made out of a heavy gauge steel and therefore required a Church Key or awl type devise to open them.  The Church Key was actually invented for the ACCO in 1935 by D.F. Sampson in order to punch a hole in the flat top (hence the name, “flat tops”.) Printed on the side of each Keglined Can was an illustration of a Church Key and operating instructions on how to open the can. These single pieces of pressed metal with a pointed end were typically given away free with these newfangled cans.

The bigger brewers like Pabst and Anheuser-Busch got the initial can tests underway with the ACCO in the late 20’s but wouldn’t commit until the can had been tested in the real market.  Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company (1858 – 1961) out of Newark, NJ was the first to take the plunge and signed the first agreement with the ACCO to create the first beer cans to go into production.  In June of 1934 four cans of Krueger’s Special Beer were delivered to 500 homes in the Richmond, Virginia area and delivered with a brochure on how to open the cans and a questionnaire.  The results were amazing, with over 90% of the participants giving their approval.  By January 1935 Krueger’s canned beer was being sold throughout the city and very soon after Krueger unveiled their cans the rest of the breweries fell into line.  That first year of canned beer ended with over 200 million cans being sold.

The December 28, 1933 issue of Brewer’s News featured a photograph of 2 Krueger’s Special Beer cans. The one above is one of two that are the best known examples to exist.

Krueger’s first beer can set, 1935.

Krueger’s Ale can from an American Can Company advertisement, 1935.

While cans were cheaper than bottles they brought with them a big challenge, paticularly for smaller breweries, in that they required a significant packaging line overhaul. The problem, however, was solved with a “cone top” can in the shape of a bottle.  Now the cans could be sealed with crown bottle caps just like bottles. Thus, the smaller breweries could run the can through their old bottling lines.  This assembly line solution, however, was short lived because cone tops were bulkier than flat tops so they cost more to ship and retailers preferred the “pyramid stacking” qualities of flat top cans.  By the early 60’s the cone top can’s 20+ year run had ended.

In 1963 the first pull tab beer cans made their way to the liquor store shelves. Pittsburgh Brewing Company, brewer of the iconic Iron City Beer, was the first to use them and the market loved them. But these removable strips of sharp metal caused a whole new set of issues. Besides litterbugs tossing them everywhere, pets and wild animals often choked on them and they were not friendly to swimmers’ feet. In 1975, the first fixed tab beer can was introduced by Falls City Brewing Company of Louisville, KY. Their design caught on and has remained relatively unchanged since. Incidentally, during WWII, the Falls City Brewery, along with a number of breweries, received contracts with the US military to provide canned beer to our soldiers overseas. Not surprisingly, after mid 1942 to 1947 all beer can production was stopped for civilians since metal was directed towards the war effort forcing brewers to package their beer almost entirely in bottles.  Like all the canned beer supplied to our US military during WWII, the Falls City Beer came in an olive drab can like the one below. For those thirsty soldiers holed up in a bunker a camouflaged beer can did make good sense.

As far as metal kegs are concerned you may be interested know that in 1934 Flowers’ India Pale Ale was, for a short time, exported from Britain to India in experimental steel casks.  However, it took around 30 years for the beer brewers to start to do away with oak beers barrels in favor of metal kegs. In the late 50’s, stainless steel kegs were replacing the oak ones because they were lighter and just as strong.  Finally, in the early 1960s, aluminum alloys were introduced because they offered the advantage of being stronger and even lighter than stainless steel.  My wife’s Grandfather, Sydney, who just turned 99, used to deliver kegs of John Smith’s all over Yorkshire, England after WWII. He and I have shared many a pint and to this day Syd still drinks John Smith’s. Old Syd exemplifies this quote by Thomas Jefferson, “Beer, if drank with moderation, softens the temper, cheers the spirit, and promotes good health.”  Though, I do believe, the mention of “moderation” in Jefferson’s quote is a mute point in Syd’s case because after a bit of calculation I figure he has consumed a conservative 30K pints of beer over his lifetime.

My fathers 1974 BCCA #2292 Membership certificate, patch and membership directory.

A few cans from his collection including a 40’s Krueger’s Cream Ale.

A few beer can sites to make you thirsty:

Oskar Blues Brewery (First US craft brewer to brew and can its own beer)

Rusty Cans

Can Smart Beer Cans

Arts Beer Cans

Breweriana

Beer Can History

Beer Can Collecting By James

Beer Showcase

Click HERE for a 75th beer can birthday video from the Beer Can Collectors of America web-site

If you like the folk style music of the Appalachians with a bit of gospel thrown in then this new E. C. Ball tribute album, “Face A Frowning World” is a must.  Nathan Salsburg devoted a good chuck of time to arrange this beauty.  It features Bonnie Prince Billy, The Handsome Family, Michael Hurley, Jollie Holland and others.

Royalties from the sale of this album will be donated to the Blue Ridge Institute, which documents, preserves, and promotes the folkways of the people living in and around the Blue Ridge Mountains.

More info on the album can be found on Nathan’s blog, Root Hog or Die.

Of course we all love a good BBQ, gathering with our friends and family and watching fireworks, but how did the 4th of July start and why do we partake in these things?

When we are in grade school we learn that the 4th of July has something to do with George Washington and the official break of the US colonies from British rule.  And that’s true.  But here’s a little refresher on how our great nation of the United States came to be.

Below info by the author, LB Cobb

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee, a delegate from Virginia, read a resolution before the Continental Congress “that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.

After a few days of debate, on June 11, 1776, the Congress appointed five delegates to draft a resolution that recognized the specific concerns. The “Committee of Five” — John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston, Roger Sherman, and Thomas Jefferson — all very eloquent men, went to work. On July 2, the revised “Lee Resolution” was read to the Congress and immediately adopted by 12 of the 13 colonies (New York did not vote). Minor alterations were made on July 2, 3, and the morning of the 4th. Then, late in the afternoon of July 4, the Declaration was officially adopted.

And there you have it.  Once the Declaration of Independence was signed it was time to party.  This letter by John Adams to his wife Abigail sums it up (of course it ended up being the 4th of July but who’s really counting?)

“The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more^.”

**While we all celebrate our independence today let’s remember to tip our hats to the radical Richard Henry Lee.  He was fiercely devoted to the welfare of his country and without his gall, spirit and pride in this great land, our history, most assuredly wouldn’t be the same.