Two canned Felinfoel beers dating from 1936 have sold at Chiswick Auctions’ wine sale, in London, for £2,270.50p.
Felinfoel was the second brewery in the UK to start canning. The beers were shipped out to North Africa to support Monty’s troops and were bought by Felinfoel itself, in order to retain a slice of the company’s heritage.
The auction catalogue description read: “Long before pale ales came in a can with labels with paint splatter and skulls emblazoned on them, at the very birth of canned beer, there was Felinfoel Brewery.
“The second ever beer to be canned, and the first outside of the USA. In 1936, Felinfoel began canning beer due to its close relationship with the tin plate industry in Wales. Wales was producing vast quantities of Tin Plate in 1930 (in 1890, 80% of the world’s tin plate came from Wales). With the onset of the second world war, Felinfoel exclusively supplied the Ministry of Defence, and cans such as these were sent to Monty’s troops in North Africa.
“These two cans are in excellent condition. Passed down through the family, one can is still full, and the other has lost some (but not all) of the liquid inside to evaporation from the base of the can.
“One can full and sealed. Both in exceptional condition. The can that has suffered some evaporation has minor label damage where the seal is weak at the base of the can.”
