Near the end of Prohibition in 1933, the American Can Company solved two problems with putting beer in cans.

The company invented a liner for the steel can and made the cans rigid enough to withstand the pasteurization process.

Two years later, on Jan. 24, 1935, the Gottfried-Krueger Brewing Company of Newark, N.J., became the first to sell beer in a can. Soon after, Pabst and Schlitz Brewing companies did the same – revolutionizing the way beer was packaged, sold and enjoyed.

According to history.com, the canned beer caught on quickly.

“Within three months, over 80 percent of distributors were handling Krueger’s canned beer, and Krueger’s was eating into the market share of the ‘big three’ national brewers–Anheuser-Busch, Pabst and Schlitz. Competitors soon followed suit, and by the end of 1935, over 200 million cans had been produced and sold.”

The cans were popular because they were stackable, more durable than glass and could be chilled quickly.

In the early days, beer was stored in wooden kegs that could be transported to taverns, pubs and even private homes. The kegs later were made of steel. They could be tapped to that consumers could enjoy a draft beer.

Later, beer was dispensed into bottles. Soon the screw cap and the pasteurization process followed.

“After the two World Wars, sales of bottled beer really took off. During the war years, bottles of all descriptions were in short supply, but thereafter, beer to take home and enjoy after work brought in an entirely new group of beer drinkers and a new level of beer consumption. At the end of the day, workers, rather than spend after work hours in taverns, could go home, be with their families and enjoy a cold beer in the comfort of their own surroundings,” according to the beveragejournalinc.com.

Aluminum cans started being used in 1958 by a Hawaiian brewery that made Primo beer.

In 1975, Falls Brewery introduced the “sta-tab,” an idea that is similar to what is used today.

According to beveragejournalinc.com, canned beer became more popular that bottled beer in 1969.

Men having beer at Filipek's Bar in Shenandoah, Pa., 1938. Photo by Sheldon Dick. (Library of Congress)

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