MOST blokes might call cracking open a cold one after a long day a necessity.
But for Nulkaba resident Dave Hugo it's become something of an obsession.
Out the back of his place, his shed holds a collection of almost 7000 beer cans, from pale ales to pilsners brewed in all parts of Australia and beyond.
He assures the Newcastle Herald he doesn't drink them all.
"I haven't drank them all, but I have drank a few of them - it's just one of those things where you suffer for your hobby," he said.
"I'm collecting the craft beer brewery cans these days, so I drink more craft than mainstream."
Mr Hugo started collecting in his late teenage years, when he and his mates would travel to different states and pick up cans.
In those days, you could only buy beer made in that state from that state - many were tough to find at the local pub.
Eventually, his father's friend gave him a set of cans with pictures of girls on them.
He put them on the shelf, and that was the start of his collection.
Now, he has a dedicated "can room" upstairs in his shed. It holds, what he calls, a small collection compared with other members of the Australian Beer Can Collectors Association.
This weekend, Mr Hugo and collectors from across Australia and New Zealand will meet for the ultimate swap - the annual CANathon, which will be held at Singleton.
At every event, Tooheys prints the club a special can for the weekend.
It's an opportunity for beer can and brewerania fanatics to show off their wares, and to trade for missing pieces in their collection.
Mr Hugo signed up in 1983, and has been sipping and swapping his way to success for the past four decades.
"It's just something I enjoy, I've got a five litre barrel of Matilda Bay, and it's one of only 500 produced and there's only three in collections in Australia," he said.
"You always try to find something at the event, something different you haven't seen for a while.
"It's like any collector. You're chasing something that's hard to get, something that looks good and displays well, and there's the social side of it, catching up with like-minded people."
The CANathon is on May 19 to 22. Visit abcca.com.au.
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