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A Look Back at Krueger Beer: The First Canned Beer

Learn about Krueger Beer, the first canned beer that debuted in 1935. Discover how the Gottfried Krueger Brewery invented a keg-lining technique to coat the inside of cans and how aluminum cans were introduced in 1958.
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Krueger Beer

Source: NJ.com

The first canned beer went on sale in Richmond, VA in January 1935. The Gottfried Krueger Brewery led the pack, having invented a keg-lining technique that coated the inside of the can the same as you would a keg. By the end of that year, 37 breweries produced canned beer.

More from Wired.com on the Krueger Brewery’s first batch of canned beer:

Canned beer was an immediate success. The public loved it, giving it a 91 percent approval rating. Compared to glass, the cans were lightweight, cheap, and easy to stack and ship. Unlike bottles, you didn’t have to pay a deposit and then return the cans for a refund. By summer Krueger was buying 180,000 cans a day from American Can, and other breweries decided to follow.

The first cans were flat-topped and made of heavy-gauge steel. To open, a hole had to be punched in the top with the sharp end of a church-key style opener.

Some breweries tried out cans with conical rather than flat tops, but they didn’t stack and ship as easily. Cone tops were sealed with a crown cap just like the cap of a glass beer bottle.

Canning was interrupted between 1942 and 1947 to devote resources to World War II. Aluminum cans, cheaper and lighter still, were introduced in 1958.

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