Canned! – The Artwork of the Modern American Beer Can

We receive a lot of books here at the American Craft Beer offices. Maybe it’s because we cover the craft beer lifestyle from a different perspective – we just don’t write about the beers that we’re drinking, we write about all the things we talk about while we’re drinking. But whatever the reasons, publishers have noticed our unique audience and send us all kinds of books to review.

So welcome to yet another edition of Good Books…Our guide to new books on beer or anything else that we’re reading and enjoying.

Canned!: Artwork of the Modern American Beer Can by Russ Phillips

Over a decade ago, Oskar Blues Brewery founder and owner Dale Katechis made a bet that no craft brewer up to that time had dared. His decision to can Dale’s Pale Ale was considered by many in the craft beer community at that time to be nothing short of blasphemy and many expected his “manufacturing play” to be doomed for failure. But Katechis’ choice back in 2002 signaled a paradigm shift in the industry that is still being felt and today, hundreds of craft brewers are now canning their beers.

Russ Phillip’s Canned! enthusiastically takes on the artwork of the American craft beer can, showcasing 600 different cans from 40 states. It’s a beautifully designed and smartly laid out coffee table book that approaches the imaging of the modern beer can as both art and a vehicle for commerce.

No stranger to the subject, Mr. Phillips is the founder and editor of CraftCans.com as well as a leading columnist for several craft beer-related publications, and his extensive understanding of canning and its history shows. He’s sensibly divided his book by regions and we were both humbled and blown away by the sheer number of can designs we’d never seen anywhere.

Canned! presents an overview of canned beer design with more than 200 pages of well-positioned visuals punctuated by “just enough” information about the breweries, the beers, and the artists responsible for giving each beer its vibe.

Canned!: Artwork of the Modern American Beer Can also features a thoughtful forward written by Dale Katechis. A blast for us to peruse, this is a book that’s sure to please both the craft beer enthusiast and students of art and design. (A-)