I don't want to aggravate your New Year’s hangover, but remember, you must find a remedy for it before Jan. 24. That is, of course, the next important Holy Day of Ale-bligation, when we honor the birth of canned beer.
It was Jan. 24, 1935, when the first beer ever packaged in a can went on sale in Richmond, Va. The brews were produced by the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company of Newark, NJ. (Historical note: “Gottfried” was not Krueger’s actual first name, it merely described what happened to him when he enjoyed a bit too much of his product.)
There are many fascinating reasons why Krueger was the first one in the can, but explaining them would require me to expend valuable time and energy looking stuff up.
However, I can tell you that the Krueger folks were apparently kind of nervous about packaging their product in a can. To see whether it would work, 2,000 test cans were given to loyal Krueger drinkers. Nine out of 10 said they liked it. Of course, there were only 10 of them to begin with. As one of them later said, “the best-tasting beer is the one I (burp) get 200 free cans of.”
For beer can collectors, that first Krueger can is pretty much the Holy Grail of Ale. The Brewery Collectibles Club of America shows a picture of it on its Web site. The can depicts a smiling bellhop in the shape of a capital letter “K.” The upper angled line of the “K” is the bellhop’s arm, carrying a tray which holds a beer, presumably a Krueger, if the logo expected to keep its job.
The container in this photo was apparently the only original Krueger can still in existence, and oddly, it hasn’t been seen since 1985. Rumor has it that it got returned for a dime in Michigan.
I don’t know what a serious beer can collector would have paid for it, but for a sense of just how much a valuable beer can can cost, here are some asking prices from a couple different Internet sites for collectors. And please, brace yourself, because even at these prices, these cans DO NOT HAVE ANY BEER IN THEM!
We’ll start with the “Famous Beverwyck” brand, not because it was a particularly delicious or memorable beer, but because I hope like heck that one of next year’s college football bowl games will feature a player named “Famous Beverwyck.”
(Note: Those who can't figure out why this is hilariously funny will just have to read the preceding post!)
Anyway, a Web site called Larwood Limited will practically give away a Famous Beverwyck can (in Grade 1/1+, WFIR, W/Cap condition, of course) for only $950.
You can pay only $1,500 for a can of “Dorquest Quality Beer,” although if you did, your loved ones, or your friends, and most definitely I, would consider you a Dorq.
A mere $3,500 will net you a can of “Williams Purple Cow Lager.” From the name, you’d think this beer can’t possibly be taken seriously. Then, when you glimpse the can, you immediately understand that this beer can’t possibly be taken seriously. The can depicts a violet-hued bovine standing alongside a white pelican. One of the cow’s teats -- sorry, this is the only word that works -- is magically squirting a stream of what must be lager into the grinning bird’s beak. Doesn't exactly evoke the majesty of the Budweiser Clydesdales, does it?
Quite a number of highly collectible beer cans honor fictional characters, such as Old King Cole, or Paul Bunyan, or Billy Carter. Unfortunately, for those of you who’ve been hoarding cans of Billy Beer hoping to sell them to collectors, fuggedaboudit. They’re hardly worth anything, and you may as well empty those cans in the can.
Speaking of which, 2008 Presidential Candidate Tom Vilsack is hoping to stop his own relatives from repeating the Billy Beer debacle. He’s trying to thwart their plans to produce a new sherry wine, which they’d package in cans labeled “Vil Sack.”
# # #
P.S. -- those who can't figure out why the last paragraph is hilariously funny will just have to read the post that preceded the preceding post!
TakefiveT5@yahoo.com
It was Jan. 24, 1935, when the first beer ever packaged in a can went on sale in Richmond, Va. The brews were produced by the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company of Newark, NJ. (Historical note: “Gottfried” was not Krueger’s actual first name, it merely described what happened to him when he enjoyed a bit too much of his product.)
There are many fascinating reasons why Krueger was the first one in the can, but explaining them would require me to expend valuable time and energy looking stuff up.
However, I can tell you that the Krueger folks were apparently kind of nervous about packaging their product in a can. To see whether it would work, 2,000 test cans were given to loyal Krueger drinkers. Nine out of 10 said they liked it. Of course, there were only 10 of them to begin with. As one of them later said, “the best-tasting beer is the one I (burp) get 200 free cans of.”
For beer can collectors, that first Krueger can is pretty much the Holy Grail of Ale. The Brewery Collectibles Club of America shows a picture of it on its Web site. The can depicts a smiling bellhop in the shape of a capital letter “K.” The upper angled line of the “K” is the bellhop’s arm, carrying a tray which holds a beer, presumably a Krueger, if the logo expected to keep its job.
The container in this photo was apparently the only original Krueger can still in existence, and oddly, it hasn’t been seen since 1985. Rumor has it that it got returned for a dime in Michigan.
I don’t know what a serious beer can collector would have paid for it, but for a sense of just how much a valuable beer can can cost, here are some asking prices from a couple different Internet sites for collectors. And please, brace yourself, because even at these prices, these cans DO NOT HAVE ANY BEER IN THEM!
We’ll start with the “Famous Beverwyck” brand, not because it was a particularly delicious or memorable beer, but because I hope like heck that one of next year’s college football bowl games will feature a player named “Famous Beverwyck.”
(Note: Those who can't figure out why this is hilariously funny will just have to read the preceding post!)
Anyway, a Web site called Larwood Limited will practically give away a Famous Beverwyck can (in Grade 1/1+, WFIR, W/Cap condition, of course) for only $950.
You can pay only $1,500 for a can of “Dorquest Quality Beer,” although if you did, your loved ones, or your friends, and most definitely I, would consider you a Dorq.
A mere $3,500 will net you a can of “Williams Purple Cow Lager.” From the name, you’d think this beer can’t possibly be taken seriously. Then, when you glimpse the can, you immediately understand that this beer can’t possibly be taken seriously. The can depicts a violet-hued bovine standing alongside a white pelican. One of the cow’s teats -- sorry, this is the only word that works -- is magically squirting a stream of what must be lager into the grinning bird’s beak. Doesn't exactly evoke the majesty of the Budweiser Clydesdales, does it?
Quite a number of highly collectible beer cans honor fictional characters, such as Old King Cole, or Paul Bunyan, or Billy Carter. Unfortunately, for those of you who’ve been hoarding cans of Billy Beer hoping to sell them to collectors, fuggedaboudit. They’re hardly worth anything, and you may as well empty those cans in the can.
Speaking of which, 2008 Presidential Candidate Tom Vilsack is hoping to stop his own relatives from repeating the Billy Beer debacle. He’s trying to thwart their plans to produce a new sherry wine, which they’d package in cans labeled “Vil Sack.”
# # #
P.S. -- those who can't figure out why the last paragraph is hilariously funny will just have to read the post that preceded the preceding post!
TakefiveT5@yahoo.com
posted by Don Stuart at 3:04 PM
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