# Cone top beer cans **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 14, 2020, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cone-top-beer-cans/847933 "2020-02-14T14:01:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cone-top-beer-cans/847933/1 "2020-02-14T14:01:04Z")
I understand cone top cans were popular among breweries in the 1930’s and 40’s but disappeared from the scene by the 1960’s. Does anyone know why they stopped manufacturing and marketing cone top beer cans? ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cone-top-beer-cans/847933/2 "2020-02-14T14:09:31Z")
Almost certainly the cost of manufacturing relative to other styles then becoming available. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cone-top-beer-cans/847933/3 "2020-02-14T14:14:16Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Almost certainly the cost of manufacturing relative to other styles then becoming available. That style being the pull tab. It also encourages one to drink the entire can instead of resealing the cone top, which tends to lead to more beer sales. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cone-top-beer-cans/847933/4 "2020-02-14T14:28:53Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > That style being the pull tab. It also encourages one to drink the entire can instead of resealing the cone top, which tends to lead to more beer sales. [cone-top cans with crimped-on caps existed](http://breweriana.com/beer-cans-soda-cans/pepsi-cola-cone-top-can-21903/) - meaning cone-top cans didn’t have to be resealable. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cone-top-beer-cans/847933/5 "2020-02-14T14:35:56Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Almost certainly the cost of manufacturing relative to other styles then becoming available. Packing efficiency of a flat top can is also greater. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cone-top-beer-cans/847933/6 "2020-02-14T14:36:32Z")
Lack of stackability probably was a factor. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cone-top-beer-cans/847933/7 "2020-02-14T14:43:56Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > [cone-top cans with crimped-on caps existed](http://breweriana.com/beer-cans-soda-cans/pepsi-cola-cone-top-can-21903/) - meaning cone-top cans didn’t have to be resealable. Wow didn’t know that. But at $800/can I can see why they didn’t last ;):smack: ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cone-top-beer-cans/847933/8 "2020-02-14T15:00:03Z")
First canned soda I remember was Super Cola in cone top cans. Early '50s. ---
**Author:** ![pakputeh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c67d28/32.png) [@pakputeh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pakputeh)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cone-top-beer-cans/847933/9 "2020-02-14T15:29:48Z")
I remember seeing a similar design for beer in the 80’s in Japan. Later they replaced the bottle cap with a twist-off. The basic shape is still popular in Japan as seen here: [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/Japanese_Hot_Coffee_%2841619985121%29.jpg/1280px-Japanese_Hot_Coffee_%2841619985121%29.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/Japanese_Hot_Coffee_%2841619985121%29.jpg/1280px-Japanese_Hot_Coffee_%2841619985121%29.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cone-top-beer-cans/847933/10 "2020-02-14T16:09:23Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Lack of stackability probably was a factor. That would be my guess as to the reason. Also, the cone top probably requires more material than the flat top. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cone-top-beer-cans/847933/11 "2020-02-14T16:32:06Z")
According to wikipedia, they were a sort of hybrid between flat-top cans and bottles that allowed them to be filled on bottling equipment, instead of requiring the brewery to invest in all-new canning equipment. > **[Cone top](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cone_top)** > > A cone top (also called a cap-sealed can, cone-top, or conetop) is a type of can, especially a type of beverage can, introduced in 1935. Cone tops were designed in response to flat top beer cans as a hybrid between beer bottle and flat top can. Cone tops were especially attractive to smaller breweries which did not have the capital necessary to buy new canning machinery; cone tops could be filled on standard bottling equipment. > Because they were typically made with steel, beverage cans faded ou... ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2020, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cone-top-beer-cans/847933/12 "2020-02-16T13:24:04Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > That style being the pull tab. Pull tabs came out long after cone tops became uncommon. From the 1950’s, well into the 60s you needed a can-opener, which punched a triangular hole in the top. The non-tabbed cans persisted in cheap beer and store-brand soda well into the 70’s, and Foster’s into the 80’s. Most bottle openers still have one end as such, but only really used for maybe broth or evaporated milk tins these days. ---
**Author:** ![JWT\_Kottekoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@JWT\_Kottekoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JWT_Kottekoe)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2020, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cone-top-beer-cans/847933/13 "2020-02-16T14:51:50Z")
I once read an article about the development of the modern aluminum can and it was fascinating. As mentioned above, it was all about reducing the manufacturing cost, with a strong emphasis on minimizing the amount of aluminum. For example the tapered top is to reduce the size of the lid, which has to use thicker aluminum to support the stress of the “stay tab”. The concave bottom prevents a convex bulge under pressure that would cause the can to tip over. It is fantastic example of engineering design that we all take for granted. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2020, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cone-top-beer-cans/847933/14 "2020-02-16T15:53:24Z")
> [@JWT\_Kottekoe](#): > > …The concave bottom prevents a convex bulge under pressure that would cause the can to tip over… Not to mention making the can look like it contains more than it really does, “enhancing the consumer experience.” ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cone-top-beer-cans/847933/15 "2020-02-16T19:42:43Z")
> [@JWT\_Kottekoe](#): > > I once read an article about the development of the modern aluminum can and it was fascinating. As mentioned above, it was all about reducing the manufacturing cost, with a strong emphasis on minimizing the amount of aluminum. For example the tapered top is to reduce the size of the lid, which has to use thicker aluminum to support the stress of the “stay tab”. The concave bottom prevents a convex bulge under pressure that would cause the can to tip over. It is fantastic example of engineering design that we all take for granted. [The Ingenious Design of the Aluminum Beverage Can](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUhisi2FBuw) ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cone-top-beer-cans/847933/16 "2020-02-17T01:50:46Z")
> [@mikecurtis](#): > > [The Ingenious Design of the Aluminum Beverage Can](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUhisi2FBuw) That was fascinating, and bizarrely relaxing. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cone-top-beer-cans/847933/17 "2020-02-17T02:55:19Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > That was fascinating, and bizarrely relaxing. Pretty much every video he does is wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![JWT\_Kottekoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@JWT\_Kottekoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JWT_Kottekoe)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cone-top-beer-cans/847933/18 "2020-02-17T03:11:29Z")
I believe the article I was referring to appeared in the American Heritage Magazine of Invention and Technology, to which I subscribed. I can’t find the article with all the pictures showing evolution of beer cans, but I think this link has the text. The video cited above provides a great description of the current design, but not much about the previous designs and their flaws. The author makes the point that invention is a continuous process of improving on imperfections, leading to better and better designs over long periods of time. [Form Follows Failure – Invention is an unending succession of imperfections. A case in point: the beer can.](https://www.inventionandtech.com/content/form-follows-failure-1) Invention and Technology, Fall 1992. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cone-top-beer-cans/847933/19 "2020-02-17T04:38:16Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > Pull tabs came out long after cone tops became uncommon. From the 1950’s, well into the 60s you needed a can-opener, which punched a triangular hole in the top. The non-tabbed cans persisted in cheap beer and store-brand soda well into the 70’s, and Foster’s into the 80’s. Most bottle openers still have one end as such, but only really used for maybe broth or evaporated milk tins these days. AKA: Church Key