He seeks them out far and wide, and reckons he probably has the biggest collection in the country.
His 20-metre by 12-metre shed in North Canterbury has an array of cans carefully shelved by country, brewery, and series.
They are also fast taking over the shed next door, and the rest sit in cartons waiting to be added. He is up to about 100,000, he says.
And every single can is different.
He also has what is probably the country's largest collection of Guinness products and memorabilia, all gathered in his pool den. And he doesn't even drink Guinness.
"I started collecting cans in my teens,'' he explains. "I was illicitly having a few DB Bitters, when I found one can was only half full. I put it on the window sill, and before I knew it, I was adding others.
"These days, I belong to clubs in New Zealand, Australia and the US. I don't buy much online, because it's all about the thrill of the chase - completing a set or finding something I'm missing - so I trade, swap and sell at club meetings. And every couple of years, I'll go to the US meeting.
"This year, I brought a 40-foot shipping container-load of cans back. The huge challenge now is making sure none of the ones I've just imported match the ones I've already got.''
So many of the cans currently on the shelves are amazing to look at. Walking into the shed, the first on display are four-litre or five-litre cans from England or Germany, then two-litre ones from New Zealand.
Another room features cans by breweries and sets - we're talking graphics of Vikings, hot-air balloons, trains, or knights on horseback. The artwork is impressive.
"When you've got one or two of a set, the drive is there to find the rest.''
Another room in the same shed is full of collectables - not Guinness this time - from miniatures and coasters to the old long-necked bottles. At some point, this space will become a bar for friends, Stu says.
The irony of it all is that Stu doesn't drink the bulk of the beer he brings home.
He's a Tui guy. So he gives the cans to friends, and has developed a punch machine that drains the beer from the bottom, leaving the top of the can intact.
Some of the beer is great, some of it gets poured down the sink, but the can still joins the thousands on the shelf.
By Rachel MacDonald
