Before the second world war, beer in the US was filled in steel cans which used what had been a traditional size for canning peas. … Demand in Europe for bigger volumes in beer cans lead to the third larger size of 440ml and later the 500ml.

Why are beer cans 330ml?

The 330ml serving seems to have originally come from the American use of fluid ounces, whereas the 500ml serving has come from the more European use of a half litre. Pubs in the UK are used to serving beer in pints, or half pints, but hardly any bottled beer is sold this way. So, we decided to look at bigger bottles.

Why did they change beer cans?

After a lull in can production during World War II, canned beer came sweeping back into the mainstream. With more beer brands sticking to canning as opposed to bottling, the need for versatile packaging was less important and cone top cans started fading out.

The origin of the 12 oz bottle stretches back to the 1800s, but the sizing was really solidified after the end of Prohibition. According to The Guardian, beer was served in 12 oz steel cans originally designed to store peas— a number that Coors stuck with when the first aluminum can was introduced in 1959.