CANNED, KEGGED and BOTTLED BEER

CANNED BEER

The idea of canning drinks originated in the USA. Following the repeal of Prohibition, the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company launched canned beer onto the market in 1933. The first cans were similar to today’s food tins. They were opened with a special opener.

Initially, cans were made of steel. The first aluminium can appeared on the market in 1958. The characteristic openings on the lid are an improvement dating from 1962. This method of opening allowed for drinking directly from the can. The mechanism on modern cans, used to push the tabs inwards, was patented in 1989.

Today, sales of canned beer already represent more than half of the market share for certain breweries.

FIG. 1: The first beer can.

FIG. 2: The first aluminium beer can.

FIG. 3: The first can of Laško beer.

---

KEGGED BEER

For more than two thousand years, wood was the only material used for making barrels. With the industrial production of beer, metal packaging also began to develop. Metal replaced wood primarily due to its durability, lighter weight and easier maintenance. The widespread use of stainless steel barrels emerged in the 1950s, while aluminium ones appeared in the 1960s. The metal barrel has an opening on the top, through which a tube leads to the bottom of the barrel for filling the beer under pressure. The opening is equipped with a valve that closes automatically when the barrel is full. Dispensing the beverage from such a barrel is done using a special tapping device.

---

BOTTLED BEER

A beer bottle is not just packaging; it is part of its identity.

Beer only began to be bottled in glass packaging in the 18th and especially the 19th century. Just like wine bottles, beer bottles were standardised.

Glass is an ideal material for beer bottles as it is inert and does not react with the contents, meaning the flavour and quality of the beer are preserved.

The first glass beer bottles were handmade, but they began to be mass-produced in factories towards the end of the century. As a result, beer bottles became cheap and easily accessible, enabling the rapid growth of the beer industry.

Today, beer bottles are available in many different shapes and sizes, designed to suit the tastes and preferences of consumers.

Beer is very sensitive to light. Sunlight can trigger undesirable changes in the aroma. There are very specific reasons behind the different colours of glass. Some are scientific, others historical, and some are purely for marketing. Together, they determine how long the beer will stay fresh and how we will experience it. As the importance of protecting beer became understood, the brown bottle became the standard – a symbol of reliability and quality. Green bottles did not come about because of fashion, but because of shortages. In the past, it was difficult to produce perfectly uniformly coloured glass in Europe, so the green bottle became an acceptable solution. Today, brewers take a broader view. Costs, recycling, logistics, and sustainability are all important. Brown glass is often the easiest to recycle. The colour of the bottle is therefore a compromise between protection, tradition, and the visual story.