Can collector is King of Beers

By Kurt Wagner

Bob Della Rocchetta's bedroom feels more like an Anheuser-Busch museum than it does a place for sleep.

Over 700 different beer cans line the walls, each with its own unique story and history. Countless bottle openers dangle down from the underside of the shelves, some shiny silver, others gray with tarnish. The remaining two walls of the room are nearly invisible, almost completely covered in Budweiser posters, plates, trays, signs and advertisements. Beer boxes and Anheuser-Busch bags dangle from the ceiling.

Della Rocchetta himself looks like a walking billboard for Anheuser-Busch. Almost all of the shirts in his closet are beer related, including jackets, sweatshirts and hats. Even his bedspread and pillows are Budweiser.

"What you see (that) I have is just the tip of the iceberg," said Della Rocchetta, 54, who started collecting Anheuser-Busch memorabilia in his twenties. "There are much bigger collections out there in the United States."

Larger collections may exist, but Della Rocchetta's abundance of memorabilia reigns supreme at Santa Clara. Della Rocchetta has worked at the university as a dishwasher for Bon Appètit since 1982, but his love for beer memorabilia goes back much farther.

Della Rocchetta remembers stopping by a bookstore on his way home from high school in 1974 and seeing "The Beer Can Collector's Bible." After returning again the following day, Della Rocchetta gave in to his curiosity and bought the book.

"I took a whole weekend to look at it, man I've never seen so many cans," he recalled. "But at that time I didn't know anything about cans. So I put the book away and I forgot about it."

A few years later on a trip to Disneyland with his cousins, Della Rocchetta purchased a couple of beer cans from an antique shop. After attending a local antique show back near his home in Sunnyvale and purchasing a few more cans, he was hooked.

"It is a part of American history," said Della Rocchetta of his love for collecting beer memorabilia. "There is a lot of history involved because each brewery has a history, the canned beer has history and beer itself has history."

Della Rocchetta began to attend smaller local beer shows around the Bay Area before branching out to larger shows around the country.

His travels have taken him to Anheuser-Busch breweries in Newark, NJ, Ft. Collins, CO, Fairfield, CA and St. Louis, MO. While attending one of his first national conventions in Las Vegas in 1984, Della Rocchetta began to realize the magnitude of beer can collecting across the country.

"I went to the show with $800 and thought this $800 will cover me for three days of the convention," he remembered. "But as I was hitting the rooms, I said 'I could spend $800 in one room!' It was so much stuff."

Beer can and memorabilia collectors form a much larger society in the U.S. than many people realize.

Della Rocchetta is a member of the Brewery Collectors Club of America, a national organization with over 4,000 members and 100 chapters completely devoted to beer can and memorabilia collecting. Originally called the Beer Can Collectors of America following its creation in 1971, the club sends out a bi-monthly magazine, as well as hosts a national CANvention each September.

This year's CANvention is scheduled to take place in Valley Forge, PA, a trip that Della Rocchetta and his father, Stephen, plan to make. Stephen, who doesn't collect cans himself, attended last year's CANvention in Springfield, IL, and is always amazed at the closeness of the beer can collecting community.

"They all know one another, and it's really amazing to sit back and watch," said Stephen. "They'll take a can away from a guy and go ask another guy (a question) and bring it back. It's a great community. They trust each other."

Della Rocchetta said the September date of the CANvention could pose a potential conflict with work and the beginning of the school year, but he's not too worried.

"I'm always afraid that I'm going be at a convention and have to miss work, but forget the work," he laughed. "I'm not going to miss the convention."

This year's convention marks a special anniversary for beer enthusiasts. The beer can, first introduced on Jan. 24, 1936, will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this Sunday and continuing the celebration throughout 2010.

The first ever beer can has been known to sell for over $10,000, said Della Rocchetta who had a couple of chances to buy the can himself but passed due to the high cost.

His most expensive can has been sold at shows from anywhere between $4000-5000. His oldest can is from 1936, the first year Budweiser began selling beer in cans.

Despite the high value of many cans and memorabilia, Della Rocchetta has no plans to sell his collection any time soon. Similar collections have sold for close to $100,000 on Ebay or at shows, where most of the can trading and purchasing takes place.

"If it was mine, it would have been sold," said Stephen. "Because it's pretty amazing."

Bob's father isn't the only one amazed at his collection. His mother, Ginny, used to collect character mugs along with Stephen before they became tired of it and moved most of their collection out of the family's living room to make space for Bob's expanding beer collection.

"It's unbelievable to us that people collect beer cans, you know," said Ginny. "Things that we would throw away."

But to Della Rocchetta, one man's trash is another man's treasure.

"(My parents) say I have too much stuff," he laughed. "They complain because I spread out too much. But it's in your blood."

Contact Kurt Wagner at jwagner@scu.edu or at (408) 554-1918.