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Welcome to globalbeercans.com, a website dedicated to collecting vintage beer cans from around the globe! |
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An early cone top can from The Felinfoel Brewery Co in Wales, commemorating the 1937 coronation of King George VI.
Two beautiful 10oz flat tops, from The Hull Brewery Co
Two examples from various sets issued by Tennent’s of Scotland.
An oversized beer mat from 1964, advertising a 7 pint can from Peter Walkers.
Long Life Beer was promoted as “the only beer brewed specially for the can.”
Evolution of the Allsopp’s Lager label in the 1960s, showing 3 brewery name changes that occurred during a period of heavy consolidation in the brewing industry.
| The history of canned beer in Britain began in March 1936, when The Felinfoel Brewery Co became the first brewer outside of the United States to produce beer in cans. The cans were supplied by The Metal Box Company and, like all beer cans produced in Britain prior to WW2, were cone top cans. By the time war interrupted canned beer production, approximately 23 British breweries had sold their product in the cone top can. Following the war, flat top cans made their debut in 1948. The flat top quickly replaced the cone top, since it had the decisive advantage of being easy to stack, making it cheaper to transport and more convenient for retailers to display and store. All of the earliest British beer cans were either 10oz or 12oz in size. However, in 1955, J. & R. Tennent began producing beer in 16oz cans which today has become the most popular size in Britain. The seven pint “party can” was introduced in 1960 by Ansells Brewery, followed soon after by the four pint can. The aluminum pull top can was finally introduced in Britain in 1967, five years after its introduction in the US. Within 3 years, all cans were using the convenient pull top, thus marking the end of the “vintage can” era in Britain. In all, over 75 different British brewers had produced cone top or flat top cans. However, this represents only a tiny fraction of the breweries in existence during Britain’s vintage can era (1936 to the late 1960s). Perhaps this explains, at least in part, why beer can collecting has never become popular in Britain – a potential collector would not necessarily find his favorite local pub brands in a take-home can. | Below is a list of all British breweries known to me that produced a cone top or flat top can. Collecting a representative can from each of these breweries is quite a challenge! ENGLAND Allied Breweries Ansells Brewery Arthur Guinness, Son & Co (Park Royal) Barclay, Perkins & Co Bass Charrington Bass, Mitchells & Butlers Bass, Ratcliff & Gretton Bristol Brewery Georges & Co C. G. Hibbert & Co C. Machen & Hudson Carter, Milner & Bird Charrington & Co Charrington United Courage Courage & Barclay Courage, Barclay & Simonds E. Lacon & Co Fremlins Fuller, Smith & Turner Graham’s Lager H. & G. Simonds Hall & Woodhouse Higson’s Brewery Hope & Anchor Breweries The Hull Brewery Co Ind Coope Ind Coope & Allsopp John Groves & Sons Kenward & Court Mackeson & Co Mann, Crossman & Paulin Mitchells & Butlers Morgan's Brewery Co Northampton Brewery Co Phipps Northampton Brewery Co Red Tower Lager Brewery Samuel Smith Old Brewery Skol Lager South London Brewery Southside Brewery Co Tetley Walker Thos. W. Farrimond Threlfall Chesters Tollemache & Co Truman Truman, Hanbury Buxton & Co Trunch Brewery Watney, Combe, Reid & Co Watney Mann Whitbread & Co Worthington & Co
ISLE OF MAN Castletown Brewery
SCOTLAND Blair & Co Drybrough & Co George Younger & Son J. & R. Tennent James Aitken & Co John Jeffrey & Co Maclachlans Robert Younger Scottish Brewers Steel, Coulson & Co Tennent Caledonian Breweries Thomas & James Bernard Thomas Usher & Son United Caledonian Breweries Wm McEwan & Co William Murray & Co William Younger & Co
WALES The Felinfoel Brewery Co Lassell & Sharman W. B. Mew, Langton & Co |
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