Good SC beers, in good-looking cans, to toast Beer Can Appreciation Day

Beer drinkers have yet another day on the calendar to celebrate their favorite brewed beverage;

Jan. 24, 1935 is recognized as the day cans of beer – Krueger’s Finest Beer and Krueger’s Cream Ale – first went on sale, in the city of Richmond, Virginia. The occasion today is marked as National Beer Can Appreciation Day. So what’s the significance of beer in cans, these 81 years later?

“There are two main factors that will deteriorate beer – light and oxygen – and you completely eliminate light getting into the beer when you use aluminum,” said John Fleck, a sales associate that specializes in beer sales at Bottles Beverage Superstore, which stocks a selection of locally brewed beers, some of which you can find in amazingly designed cans.

Take Southern Barrel Brewing Co.’s Damn Yankee IPA can. The fruity beer out of Bluffton is housed in a can that Fleck said reminds him of the poster for the 1998 dark comedy “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.”

The Problem Solver from Benford Brewing Co. in Lancaster offers a design with a subtle nod to the periodic table, and it would seem the imperial India pale ale is supposed to help you reach your “creative peak” with the catchphrase, “All you have to do is drink and think!”

Charleston’s Revelry Brewing’s Gullah Cream Ale has a distinct design of a beautifully sketched flower, representative of the Gullah Geechee community. Meanwhile, North Charleston’s brewery Coast Brewing Co. serves up a Dead Arm Pale Ale that also pays homage to a subset of the city: beachgoers. The can’s design features a surfer riding a wave that upon closer (sober) inspection looks like a skull.

Although American Kölsch Story from Columbia’s River Rat Brewery is similar to most domestic beers, the can is far from common.

“I feel like this beer is good for your average drinker who’s not really into craft,” said Fleck. “It’s good to introduce people to craft beers because it’s very light, very crisp, very easy to drink. Not very heavy flavorful either way. Very middle of the road.”

Greenville’s Brewery 85 offers Southern Style American pale ale in a rather straightforward can. “Expect crisp, hoppy notes with a floral aroma riding a smooth and refreshing malty backbone,” is how it’s described on the brewery’s website. “It’s designed to be enjoyed with good conversation.”

So today, enjoy a cold one in a can and leave the koozie off. Let the can’s design instigate a conversation and a second round.

This story was originally published January 18, 2017 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Good SC beers, in good-looking cans, to toast Beer Can Appreciation Day."