Ale Beer Socks

Beer Can Appreciation Day

January 2021 Danna Bananas

Beer Can Appreciation Day

Ale Beer Socks

Beer Can Appreciation Day recognizes the great day in 1935 when beer was first sold in cans.

Credit for the first beverage can goes to the Krueger Brewing Company of Richmond, Virginia. Made of steel and weighing in at almost 4 ounces, these hefty canisters opened with a church-key.

Click play and enjoy a story about National Beer Can Appreciation Day featuring our founder, Marlo Anderson. If you enjoy the 2-minute show, subscribe with your favorite podcast player.

While Krueger Brewing Company sold the first beer in a can, American Can Company made canning drinkable beer possible. Krueger took the risk with American Can Company just weeks before the repeal of Prohibition. Weighing in at 4 ounces, the hefty steel cans opened with a church-key. Loyal Krueger’s drinkers favored the can over the bottle 9-1.

Significant Dates in Beer Can History

1935 -Cone-Top – G. Heilemann Brewing Company – La Crosse, WI – Introduces cone-top cans that fit existing bottling lines convenient for small brewers with small budgets.
1963 -Pull Tab – Pittsburgh Brewing Company – Revolutionizes the beer can when it introduces Iron City Beer in self-opening cans with pull tabs, also known as pop tops. With their sharp edges, the pull tabs became the feared litter at beaches, parks, backyards, and anywhere beverages were consumed.
1975 – Stay Tab- Falls City Brewing Company of Louisville, KY introduces the Stay Tab removing the pull tab’s environmental impact.

This day provides people with the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate the many different kinds of beer cans. Around the world, collectors seek rare, novel, and unique varieties. A collector may have hundreds of beer cans in many different sizes, types, and ages.

HOW TO OBSERVE #BeerCanAppreciationDay

Enjoy a beer from a can. While you do, explore the art behind the beer can. As more craft beers hit the market, designing the labels become as much an art form as the can and the beer do. Learn more about beer making and the types of craft beer. Tour local breweries. Explore their canning process. As always, invite someone to join you. It is the best way to #CelebrateEveryDay! When you do, use #BeerCanAppreciationDay to post on social media.