“Beer Cans, Bootlegging and Prohibition!“

The timeline …

• January 17, 1920 – the start of Prohibition … and Bootlegging!
• December 5, 1933 – the repeal of the 18th Amendment’s ban on alcohol.
• January 24^th, 1935 – the first commercial beer can is sold

Shortly, we will celebrate National Bootlegger’s Day (January 17^th) and Beer Can Appreciation Day (January 24^th), two sides of the same historical coin! While National Bootlegger’s Day acknowledges how alcohol survived in the shadows of Prohibition, Beer Can Appreciation Day commemorates how alcohol thrived following Prohibition.

On January 17^th, 1920, alcohol became contraband and bootleggers filled the demand, not just by smuggling liquor in the top of their “boot”,  but by using their ingenuity in creating an illegal supply chain to the infamous “speakeasy” and an underground culture. National Bootlegger Day brings to mind hidden bars and clubs; passwords, secret entrances and coded language, and the rise of famous bootleggers including Al Capone, “Bugs” Moran, Meyer Lansky, “Lucky” Luciano and Dutch Schultz

Forecasting the demise of Prohibition was Gottfried Krueger, founder of the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company (Newark, New Jersey). Working with American Can Company, Gottfried and his team introduced canned beer to the public on January 24^th, 1935, just a year after Prohibition ended. Released on that day were Krueger’s Finest Beer and Krueger’s Cream Ale, and drinkers overwhelming approved.

The beer can, introduced by Krueger, was a technological breakthrough, with internal coatings that prevented the beer from tasting metallic. Stronger steel cans withstood internal pressures while  transforming logistics and distribution. The beer can was …

• Lighter than glass bottles
• Less fragile
• Easier to stack and transport, and
• Cheaper to ship long distances

These features helped breweries expand regionally and nationally.

Not only did the beer can increase accessibility for everyday consumers, it also had a profound effect culturally by influencing lifestyle changes. Canned beer enabled:

• Outdoor drinking (Camping, boating & fishing)
• Sporting event concessions
• Military rations, most notably during WWII, and
• A casual, mass market beer culture. (“Tastes Great. Less Filling!”)

And if you own a beer can from its early days, you have an envied collectable!

The beer can helped define mid and late 20^th century American leisure, in the same manner in which bootlegging defined an underground culture … 100 years ago!