January 25: Yesterday’s 75th anniversary of the first canned beers being launched in the US has been celebrated by canmaking firm Ball Corporation.
A leading manufacturer of beer cans around the world, Ball has recognised the contribution that was made by pioneers in the 1930s in anticipation of the lifting of prohibition.
Of the 51 billion cans Ball makes each year worldwide, some 55 percent are for beer, with another 6 billion made by joint ventures.
Krueger’s beer was first to be launched in cans on 24 January 1935 in Richmond, Virginia, after years of development to find the right combination of metals and coatings. The cans weighed about five times what they do now and needed a church key to open. Similar canned beers were produced in Europe soon after, in South Wales for the Felin Foel Brewery.
