There are a number of good reference books on beer can collecting and on the history of brewing. Here is a list of books that I can recomend. Next to each book I have the Amazon link if you want to go buy a copy. Yes, if you use the link I supposedly get a small cut from Amazon. I haven't gotten one yet, although a few people have purchased books through these links (thank you) But, hey, I can hope...
Beer Cans Unlimited: Published in the late 1970s and early 1980s by Maverick Publishing in Missouri. An early attempt to give monetary values to beer cans. Its reference numbers are still commonly used to indicate a specific can. For example, BCU 32-2 would be the 2d can on page 32. It covers flats, cones and pull tabs as well as odd-sized cans. The first edition also covered some foreign cans.
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United States Beer Cans: a book published by the Beer Can Collectors of America in 2000. The USBC has photos of most of the known different beer can produced in the United States from 1935 until the mid 1960s. The USBC covers only flat tops, conetops, and gallon cans. It does not cover pull tabs. (Click on the photo to go to the BCCA page to order. I get no cut from this link, I'm just supporting the BCCA!) |
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United States Beer Cans: Vol II: a book published by the Beer Can Collectors of America in 2007. The USBC has photos of most of the known different beer can produced in the United States from 1963 until the late 1970s. The USBC II covers only tab tops, (Click on the photo to go to the BCCA page to order. I get no cut from this link either, I'm just supporting the BCCA!)
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The Beer Can Collector's Bible: by Jack Martells, 1976. The Bible has photos of both flattops and pull tabs from the United States. It does not list cans larger than 12 oz. It does not give values to cans but it does give reference numbers, indicates approximately when a can first appeared, and has lots of interesting information on dating cans, different types of cans, etc. Still useful for the novice collector! There is also a "Cone Top Collector's Bible" by Martells, which is not referenced as often and is difficult to find but very interesting.
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| The Cone Top Collector's Bible: by Jack Martells. 1976. Harder to find than the Beer Can Collector's Bible, this is a must-have for those who want to know more about cone top cans. | |
Beer Can Collecting: by Lew Cady, 1976 edition. A nice paperback about beer can collecting including a history of the BCCA. A very popular book when beer can collecting was at its height as a new fad in the mid and late 1970s. Full of great stories and photos.
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Beer Can Collecting: by Lew Cady, 1981 edition. An updated edition of his 1976 book. Has some new material and some corrections for the earlier version. Like his 1976 version, Cady's 1981 edition is full of great stories and photos.
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| Foreign Beer Cans: by Darrold Bussell, 1977. 118 pages, lots of B&W photos. Cans from outside of the US broken down by country. A nice guide to foreign cans, especially useful for 1970s sets. |
Brewing History
As both a professional historian and a breweriana collector I read a lot of books on the history of beer and brewing. Here are some good books on brewing history that I can recommend. They are listed by author.| Dan Baum. Citizen Coors: A Grand Family Saga of Business, Politics, and Beer. Baum takes the Coors story up to 1999 or so. A fascinating history. | |
| Thomas C. Cochran. The Pabst Brewing Company: The History Of An American Business. Originally published in 1948, this is a scholarly study and the grandfather of all later brewery histories. | |
| Curt Dalton. Breweries of Dayton: A Toast to Brewers From the Gem City 1810-1961. A short, early work on Dayton, Ohio's breweries. Surpassed by Musson's work, listed below, but still worth getting, especially for Ohio specialists. | |
| Nancy Moore Gettelman.The A. Gettelman Brewing Company: one-hundred and seven years of a family brewery in Milwaukee. A well-done family history. | |
| Peter R. Guetig and Conrad Selle. Louisville Breweries: A History of the Brewing Industry in Louisville; Kentucky; New Albany and Jeffersonville; Indiana. VERY hard to find now, but it's one of the best brewery history books out there. | |
| Henry Herbst, Don Roussin and Kevin Kious. St. Louis Brews: 200 Years of Brewing in St. Louis, 1809 - 2009. The best work on St. Louis brewing history by three experienced collectors. The product of a lot of good research. | |
| Timothy J. Holian. Over the Barrel: The Brewing History and Beer Culture of Cincinnati, Volume One, 1800-Prohibition. Very hard to find, but these two volumes by Holian are the best histories of this important brewing city. | |
| Timothy J. Holian. Over the Barrel : The Brewing History and Beer Culture of Cincinnati, Volume Two, Prohibition to 2001. | |
| Rob Kasper. Baltimore Beer: A Satisfying History of Charm City Brewing. (2012) | |
| Gary and Gloria Meier. Brewed in the Pacific Northwest: A History of Beer Making in Oregon and Washington. (1991) | |
| Michael Morgen. Over-the-Rhine: When Beer Was King. A nice short history of German brewers in Cincinnati before Prohibition. | |
| Robert Musson. Brewing Beer In The Gem City: A Pictorial History of the Brewing Industry in Dayton, Ohio. Musson's works are a must-read for anyone interested in Ohio's breweries. | |
| Robert Musson. Brewing Beer in the Buckeye State, Vol. 1: A History of the Brewing Industry in Eastern Ohio from 1808 to 2004. | |
| Maureen Ogle. Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer. A good general history. | |
| Maureen O'Prey. Brewing in Baltimore (Images of America) | |
| Garrett Peck. Capital Beer: A Heady History of Brewing in Washington, DC. (2014). A good over-all view of brewing in the nation's capital, including the recent success of micro-brewers such as DC Brau. | |
| Garrett Peck. Prohibition in Washington, DC: How Dry We Weren't. (2011) A well-done short history of the "dry" years in DC, 1917-1933. | |
| Bob Skilnik. Beer: A History of Brewing in Chicago. A decent short history. | |
| Bob Skilnik. Beer: A History of Brewing in Chicago, Vol. 2. Nice details about the demise of Schlitz. | |
| Dale P Van Wieren. American Breweries II. Absolutely indispensable for any brewery historian. A list of every brewery the researchers could find operating in the US from colonial times until 1995. | |
| Rich A. Wagner. Philadelphia Beer: A Heady History of Brewing in the Cradle of Liberty (PA) Rich Wagner is the expert on Philadelphia brewing. | |
