Beverage can

A beverage can is a metal container designed to hold a fixed portion of liquid such as carbonated soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, fruit juices, teas, herbal teas, energy drinks, etc. Beverage cans are made of aluminum (75% of worldwide production) or tin-plated steel (25% worldwide production). Worldwide production for all beverage cans is approximately 370 billion cans per year worldwide.

History

Beginning in the 1930s, after an established history of success with storing food, metal cans were used to store beverages. The first beer was available in cans beginning in 1935 in Richmond, Virginia. Not long after that, sodas, with their higher acidity and somewhat higher pressures, were available in cans. The key development for storing beverages in cans was the interior liner, typically plastic or sometimes a waxy substance, that helped to keep the product's flavor from being ruined by a chemical reaction with the metal. Another major factor for the timing was the end of Prohibition in the United States at the end of 1933.