Breweriana Goes Well Beyond Old Beer Cans
Beer can collecting took off in the 1970s when high school kids and others ventured out into usually remote areas 'dumping' for old beer cans to restore. The craze died out during the 1980s when breweries began putting out hundreds of variations on their cans to gain the attention of collectors. The same thing happened with sports cards in the 1990s.
What goes around, comes around, as the saying goes. People who came of almost legal drinking age during the 1970s are now retired - or getting ready to retire. And this leisure time phase of life has help renew interest in beer can collecting.
Serious collectors of brewery memorabilia often focus on the more difficult to find items such as serving trays, porcelain or neon signage and tappers. Pre-prohibition items are of particular interest because of their scarcity. Then there are coasters and paper labels from bottles. Pictured here is the Dubuque Star Brewery which features an extensive gallery of Breweriana inside.