Today is the 50th anniversary of the aluminum beer can, released by Coors in 1959. And while I was prepared to make fun of cans for a few hundred words, they're actually sort of interesting.
Some IMPORTANT historical facts:
• Coors spent two years developing the aluminum can.
• Before aluminum cans, the tin can had been in use since the 1800s. It used lead in the seams.
• Tin can beer tasted even worse than canned beer now, as the cans were not easily pre-cleaned, thereby requiring the beer be pasteurized.
• Aluminum cans were the first cans to be feasibly recycled while also lowering shipping costs.
• Coors Light, available in cans, is the preferred beer of resident foodie Wilson Rothman. On his Facebook page alone, he has a collection of eight identical Coors Light gifts.
Happy Birthday, aluminum can. I raise my glass and/or bottle to you. [Rocky Mountain News via Consumerist]
DISCUSSION
Did you know that beer actually tastes better from a can? Any form of light destroys the taste of beer especially anything in a clear or green bottle, that skunky taste you sometimes get from those beers is not natural, that is the beer going rotten from sunlight contamination that breaks down the beer. I would buy every beer from a can if I could.