UK Man Collected 9,000 Beer Cans Over 40 Years
A 60-year-old man living in North Somerset, England, collected 9,300 beer cans starting in 1975. But on July 13, 2017, exactly 42 years after he got his first can, he quit.
Nick West started collecting beer cans when he was 16 years old, after he saw a TV report about selling them to collectors in the US. West says he probably spent more than £25,000, or about $30,000, collecting the cans. He even spent about $1,500 on one of the first cans of beer made in the UK.
He put small holes in the bottoms of most of the cans and poured out the beer so the tops could stay closed. Part of his house became a "beer can library" with curtains to stop the cans from getting damaged by light.
He said he used to collect between 150 and 200 cans per year, but as craft beer became more popular and started being sold in cans, he had to buy more and more, and was buying 650 cans a year before he quit.
With each one costing at least £3, or about $3.64, West said he no longer had the money or space for them. He also said he didn't like having to drink all the strange new craft beer flavors, some of which he called "disgusting."
West sold 6,000 of his cans for about $16,000, and gave another 1,800 to a local museum. He plans to keep 1,500 for himself.
West's wife, who helped him drink the beer, is happy that he is finally quitting his hobby, as they are hoping to move to a smaller house.
