On January 24th in 1935, Americans cracked open their first can of beer. The first brewer being Gottfried Krueger delivering 2,000 cans of their beer to thirsty consumers in Richmond, VA. Partnering with American Can Company, this was the start of a revolution in the brewing industry. Ninety-one percent of the drinkers approved of this idea and Krueger began furthering production. At first the concept was a tough sell, but within three months eighty percent of distributors were handling Kruegers canned brew. With this eating into the market share, their competitors began to follow suit. At the time the “big-three” were Anheuser-Busch, Pabst and Schlitz and by the end of 1935 over 200 million cans were being produced and sold, including yours truly.
Cans are easier to stack, chill, and transport which made for more efficient storage, and because they block all light and reduce oxidation, they actually help keep the beer inside fresher. The popularity of canned beer increased steadily throughout the 1930’s. It wasn’t until World War II that they exploded when U.S. brewers shipped millions of cans to troops overseas. When these troops returned home, sales naturally continued to rise and the national breweries began to take advantage of the mass distribution benefits cans had.
So, here we are 86 years later, cracking open ice cold Tall Boys like they’ve always been around… but they haven’t been, and you know that now. Want to learn more things that you didn’t know? Check out Our Story to learn more about us and our part in American history.