First Bock Cans

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Clarkston1
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First Bock Cans

#1

Post by Clarkston1 »

Hey Jim -

Which brewery was the first to can their Bock Beer?
I always assumed it was Pabst...but maybe Krueger or P.O.N.?
The early Bock cans are certainly some of the most graphic cans ever produced!


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Jim Romine
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Re: First Bock Cans

#2

Post by Jim Romine »

06 The First Bock Can.docx
(1.64 MiB) Downloaded 373 times
I'll let you read the article I wrote for the GOATZETTE in 2010, explaining why I believe Pabst was the first brewer out with a Bock can. No doubt the head start was a matter of only days or weeks, but back then THAT MATTERED!
After you read it, tell me whether you agree or not!
Jim
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Re: First Bock Cans

#3

Post by Clarkston1 »

WOW....fantastic article!
I agree....Pabst out first...with good old Krueger maybe a close second.
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Re: First Bock Cans

#4

Post by Shevy85Ale »

This is why I will be a member of this site until the day I die. This is a subject I never gave one thought to, even though I'm a huge fan of bock cans, especially the early, highly graphic cans (although I can't really afford a nice example of most of them either).The posted article is thoughtful, well reasoned, and truly awesome. Thanks so much for posting it.
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Jim Romine
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Re: First Bock Cans

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Post by Jim Romine »

Thank, I appreciate that!
Jim
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Re: First Bock Cans

#6

Post by sgramling »

Off the Bock Questions for a second - why do the Kruger Ale and Beer cans have hats on? Weren't Baldies the first generation?
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Re: First Bock Cans

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Post by Jim Romine »

Don't get the gist of the question, grambling. Sorry. But, you're right, the second round of major designs for K men were with hats, but there were several baldy variations first.
Bocks were all less the K man, and had big ol' goats!
Jim
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Re: First Bock Cans

#8

Post by sgramling »

Sorry Jim, I'll clarify..
On the document it says, "This is believed to be a photo of all the cans that had been produced by A. C. Co. up to that time".
But there are no Baldies on the photo which would have been produced before that time if the K-man with hat cans had been produced if my thinking is correct.
Unless the Baldies were produced by a different can company, doesn't it call into question that ALL of the bock cans produced up to that time are represented since not all of the cans produced are not present and further obscure the "first bock can" mystery?
Thanks,
Steve
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Re: First Bock Cans

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Post by Jim Romine »

Ah, I see, said the blind man................
Good point, Steve. The Kruegers K men in the photo DO appear to be hatted. According to LIlek's book, hatted K men arrived on the scene in early to mid '36, which actually lines up with the photo timing. I guess I would have been more correct to say the photo represents all the BREWERIES canning with A C Co at that point.
But, I think the logic still holds that there were no Bocks produced in '35, and there's no doubt that all the Bocks on the market in Spring '36 would have been "currents" at the time of this photo. So, unless someone has something showing that another can company was producing Bock cans in Spring '36, the logic still holds that points to Pabst.
Thanks for pointing this out!
Jim
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Re: First Bock Cans

#10

Post by mtracy64 »

Guys,

I believe the photo from Canco Magazine shows all of the brands they had canned, as it obviously does not show all of the cans they had produced. It appears to show cans which were current at the time, though a couple were likely already obsolete also.

The photo is interesting for many reasons, but the Krueger cans were one of the biggest surprises for me. Not only are the Ale and Beer the "hatted" versions, but they are "Krueger" rather than "Krueger's".

The last version of the baldies are shown in the October, 1935 Kent Ale ad I'm sure you've seen, so the labels progressed quite rapidly. If you count the minor variations, the Krueger cans in the Canco photo are at least the 8th different versions produced. It's no wonder some of the cans are exceedingly rare!

Marc
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