Made in Jersey: Canned beer - Krueger Brewing Co. proved "yes, we can can!"
Commercial bottled beer became feasible after the discovery of pasteurization in the 19th century. And, sales of the suds sealed in glass climbed rapidly until Prohibition.
With the passage of the 21st Amendment, manufacturers jumped back into the beer business and sales of the bottled beverage took off again, but there was one small problem: bottles broke.
Star-Ledger archive photo
Breakage during shipment cost breweries money and there was extra expense incurred in packing the bottles. Beer in a can would take up less space, be easier to ship and, if dropped, would result in nothing more severe than a “foamer.”
By 1933, the American Can Co. had developed a container that met the needs of the product, including a sturdy seal and a lining because contact with metal ‘skunked’ beer rapidly. The Krueger Brewing Co. of Newark was willing to take a chance on the new container, and even conducted a test in which 2,000 cans of beer were provided to faithful customers along with a questionnaire; 91 percent responded favorably.
The tagline for this 1930s ad read "Krueger's in CANS, please!" Courtesy of syllablesoup.com
It took a confident offer from American Can to close the deal; the company said it would install the canning machinery right in the Krueger factory, and if cans flopped, they’d uninstall it at no cost to the brewer.
Krueger sales shot up following the introduction of the novel new container and the localized beer maker even managed to garner a healthy share of the market from national breweries Budweiser and Pabst. Eventually, beer companies of all sizes signed on to seal suds in cans.
The Krueger company celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1958, but by then was losing its market share at a rapid pace. The company was sold in 1961 and the brand was produced in Rhode Island. The original brewery in Newark was demolished in 1988.
LINK: http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2013/10/made_in_jersey_canned_beer_-_k.html
Commercial bottled beer became feasible after the discovery of pasteurization in the 19th century. And, sales of the suds sealed in glass climbed rapidly until Prohibition.
With the passage of the 21st Amendment, manufacturers jumped back into the beer business and sales of the bottled beverage took off again, but there was one small problem: bottles broke.
Star-Ledger archive photo
Breakage during shipment cost breweries money and there was extra expense incurred in packing the bottles. Beer in a can would take up less space, be easier to ship and, if dropped, would result in nothing more severe than a “foamer.”
By 1933, the American Can Co. had developed a container that met the needs of the product, including a sturdy seal and a lining because contact with metal ‘skunked’ beer rapidly. The Krueger Brewing Co. of Newark was willing to take a chance on the new container, and even conducted a test in which 2,000 cans of beer were provided to faithful customers along with a questionnaire; 91 percent responded favorably.
The tagline for this 1930s ad read "Krueger's in CANS, please!" Courtesy of syllablesoup.com
It took a confident offer from American Can to close the deal; the company said it would install the canning machinery right in the Krueger factory, and if cans flopped, they’d uninstall it at no cost to the brewer.
Krueger sales shot up following the introduction of the novel new container and the localized beer maker even managed to garner a healthy share of the market from national breweries Budweiser and Pabst. Eventually, beer companies of all sizes signed on to seal suds in cans.
The Krueger company celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1958, but by then was losing its market share at a rapid pace. The company was sold in 1961 and the brand was produced in Rhode Island. The original brewery in Newark was demolished in 1988.
LINK: http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2013/10/made_in_jersey_canned_beer_-_k.html
