Rich Ordy, 82, of Butler stands with some of the 1,100 beer cans he keeps in his basement.

Rich Ordy owns more than 1,100 beer cans, but he never drinks.

“I tried it one time when I was in the Army,” Ordy said. “But the taste, ugh, I didn’t like it.”

Ordy wants to rid himself of his collection, which spans shelves throughout his garage, his basement and a space under his stairs. He’s finally ready to see the cans go, and his wife, JoAnn, smiled and said she wouldn’t mind it either.

Ordy, 82, of Butler did nearly all of his collecting in the 1970s and 1980s. He said he hasn’t added to his collection in about 15 years.

It isn’t just the Ordys looking to kick their cans out: Beer can collecting, a niche hobby similar to gathering stamps and coins, appears to be in decline, even as small breweries in America are growing more common in recent years.

This is an excerpt — read more about Ordy and beer collecting in Friday’s Butler Eagle.