A usually cheap, thirst-quenching alcoholic beverage in a durable package, now commonplace on rafting and camping trips. The world’s first cans were made in 1810 and owed their corrosion resistance to a thin layer of tin that, when used later for beer, turned it cloudy and sour. Coors, in partnership with Beatrice Foods, developed the aluminum beer can in the 1950s, and the Hawaii Brewing Company, a Beatrice subsidiary, began using it in 1958. In the early 1960s, Budweiser and Hamm’s followed suit. Craft brewers such as Founders, New Belgium, and Sierra Nevada have recently joined the fray, drawn by aluminum’s portability and recyclability, while legacy brands like Rainier never stopped offering its beers in cans.
(Photo: Tim Tomkinson)
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