Beer Day Britain: Top 10 beer can facts you didn’t know
Beer fans up and down the country rejoiced on 15th June as the nation celebrated Beer Day Britain. With Britain basking in warmer weather many of us toasted the nation's national celebration day to all things beer with a cool beer from a can. Here's a few things you may not know about the humble drinks can:
- 65% of the total beer volume sold in the UK in multiple grocers, off licenses and convenience stores is in cans (Nielsen). Around 9.6 billion drinks cans are made per year.
- Aluminium drinks cans are the most recycled beverage container on the planet (RRS) with 72% of aluminium currently recycled in the UK (Alupro).
- The infinite life of steel and aluminum means that once a beer can is recycled it could be back on the shelves as a new can in as little as 60 days. This is because metal is a permanent material that doesn’t change structurally, even when heated to extreme temperatures, making it the perfect sustainable packaging choice!
- We use 380 aluminium drinks cans per household in Britain every year (Alupro).
- The can dates back to 1795 when Napoleon offered a 12,000 franc prize for a method of preserving food for his armies.
- Canned beer was introduced to the UK in 1935 by the Felinfoel Brewery in Wales, and had a cone shaped top. It wasn’t until the 1950s that the can had the flat top that we know today.
- Retained ring-pull ends for beer cans were first introduced in the UK in 1990.
- The most popular can size for beer is the 440ml, with the smaller 330ml growing fast, thanks to the success of craft beer.
- Craft beer in cans already make up a quarter of overall craft beer sales in grocery multiples and off licences.
- It’s not just wine that goes well with a good meal – try a pale ale with your buffalo wings or maybe a light beer with your roast chicken. Maybe next time you have steak go for an intense beer that can hold its own.
Facts provided by the Can Makers
Data source: Nielsen 2017/2018
*Recycling Resource Systems 2017
Alupro