Canning Your Beer?

I've got my first very first batch in the primary and I've got not much else to do but wait and look at these forums.

One thing I haven't seen any information on is canning home brews.
I don't plan on doing this myself, but I'm wondering if anyone has looked into this. Seems like it'd take a good amount of specialty equipment. Probably not worth it in the end as bottles are re-usable and far more common... but can it be done at a home level?

Actually if you search you will find some info on here, I know I posted some several months ago.

The canning line machinery and the minimum order requirement for cans is out of the range of homebrewers...it is only JUST becoming in the range for microbrewers to do it, because one company has come up with a smaller canning line AND a minimum can order requirement of like 10,000 per delivery or something.

Bottling is still way easier for now...

but who knows, someday maybe.

Ya, the startup costs are pretty absurd and not for the homebrew crowd. Craft breweries are just now starting to get in on the action since cans offer a ton of advantages (lighter than glass=less shipping costs; impermeable to light; recycled aluminum is "greener" than glass; etc) a few companies that spring to mind that can: Oskar Blues (can exclusively), New Belgian (Fat Tire only), and the New Upslope Brewery. (can you tell I am from CO?)

Yes yes yes!!!!

Parker jogged my memory of where I posted the info...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/862165-post22.html

Here's the company that is offering smaller batch can runs for microbreweries http://www.cask.com/main/index.php?page_id=5

i wouldn't look into it for homebrew...

the "green" aspects are moot. You're not shipping. You're also re-using instead of recycling.

UV light is just about moot too, as long as you're storing in a closet or basement or something.

dwf137 said:

the "green" aspects are moot. You're not shipping. You're also re-using instead of recycling.

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Yeah, re-using glass is "greener" than recycling aluminum.

Although if you really want aluminum for taking to places where glass isn't allowed, or shipping to friends, there are more and more beverages coming out in aluminum bottles. Grab on to some of those, they can be re-capped just like glass.

truckmann said:

Although if you really want aluminum for taking to places where glass isn't allowed, or shipping to friends, there are more and more beverages coming out in aluminum bottles. Grab on to some of those, they can be re-capped just like glass.

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And there's at least one thread on here about re-using those...There's a really good one about sandblasting them they look really cool!

There's a brewery starting up in Georgia that's going to be doing cans too. They're renovating an old jailhouse in McDonough, Georgia, and are aptly called Jailhouse Brewing Co.

truckmann said:

there are more and more beverages coming out in aluminum bottles. Grab on to some of those, they can be re-capped just like glass.

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I was going to mention this. I inherited a few and they work fine, at least with a bench capper. Didn't try the wing capper.

grammatron said:

There's a brewery starting up in Georgia that's going to be doing cans too. They're renovating an old jailhouse in McDonough, Georgia, and are aptly called Jailhouse Brewing Co.

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Is it also aptly named because they like it "in the can"; or mainly just because it used to be a jailhouse?

nealf said:

Is it also aptly named because they like it "in the can"; or mainly just because it used to be a jailhouse?

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Instant Rimshot

Revvy said:

Parker jogged my memory of where I posted the info...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/862165-post22.html

Here's the company that is offering smaller batch can runs for microbreweries WELCOME TO CASK.COM

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Hey, that's a local company here in Calgary. In fact, they are a sponsor for our homebrew club. Nice guys -- they donated a roller grain mill and some other swag for our upcoming competition.

Maybe I will work on seeing if Jamie will donate a canning system as a prize! Would that get us some more entries from HBT folks?.....

FlyGuy said:

Hey, that's a local company here in Calgary. In fact, they are a sponsor for our homebrew club. Nice guys -- they donated a roller grain mill and some other swag for our upcoming competition.

Maybe I will work on seeing if Jamie will donate a canning system as a prize! Would that get us some more entries from HBT folks?.....

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You should totally work with him to design an under 500.00 pico canning system for homebrewers, where we could also order cans in lots of like 500 bucks. You guys would totally revolutionize the homebrewing hobby and be rich..RICH I SAY!!!!

(Now that I gave you the idea...you have to remember me and send me one as a gift for making you guys wealthy.)

nealf said:

Is it also aptly named because they like it "in the can"; or mainly just because it used to be a jailhouse?

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haha, good question.

I would live to get some aluminum bottles.

alpo said:

I would live to get some aluminum bottles.

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Get this man some Aluminum for gods sake! He's gonna jump!

haha
I may look into the aluminum craze. I can sanblast them at work, then laser etch my logo on with a nice dark black anneal mark, then use them for tap handles! I am GENIOUS! Anyone car to donate ~5 so i don't have to buy Bud?

Is any micro packaging in those juice box thingers that I've seen wine in recently?

magnj said:

Is any micro packaging in those juice box thingers that I've seen wine in recently?

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I don't think so. Carbonation would be an issue.

I reused a couple of these just for kicks. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm guessing the rudimentary "threads" will let go and I'll have beer sprayed all over the place, but we'll see.

Worked out just fine. I have a couple of friends who drink energy drinks in those cap cans. They come in a couple of sizes and the scuttlebutt is that they will be used more frequently in the future. I probably wouldn't reuse them more than a couple of times. But for convenience, and giving homebrew to friends, I might start canning a few of them when I bottle.

What about canning like canning peaches. Using mason jars?

I think a 1 quart jar of beer would be mighty tasty. its like pre-glassed for you. Keg, then bottle, then pasteurize in boiling water.

Cask probably has the smallest and simplest canning system. The videos are interesting, but they sell cans by the trucklot.

tspilker - canning jars cannot hold pressure. The seals only hold vacuum.

david_42 said:

Cask probably has the smallest and simplest canning system. The videos are interesting, but they sell cans by the trucklot.

tspilker - canning jars cannot hold pressure. The seals only hold vacuum.

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dang. That is unfortunate.

I canned my first and only batch of Mr. Beer beer in mason jars, they didnt explode, although i informed my roommate of the possible exploding beer glass grenades...its tasted like beer and i immediately decided to upgrade equipment...propably wouldnt do it again tho haha

You don't have to buy bud light. Jack Daniels has this Whiskey and Coke they are doing in aluminum bottles that have the proper ridge for re capping. They look fine, though I haven't actually used one yet. They come in four packs.

Can anyone confirm that wing cappers do work on the aluminum bottles?

Kegging is way cheaper and easier than bottling or canning.

I may look into the aluminum craze. I can sanblast them at work, then laser etch my logo on with a nice dark black anneal mark, then use them for tap handles! I am GENIOUS! Anyone car to donate ~5 so i don't have to buy Bud?

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Do you have Boulevard Brewing where you're at? If so the unfiltered wheat comes in 16oz aluminum bottles.

Weizenwerks said:

Kegging is way cheaper and easier than bottling or canning.

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What planet are you living on?

Bottles = free
Caps = 2 bucks for 12 dozen
Capper = 10 bucks.

How the hell is that more expensive than kegging? Last I heard kegging was several hundred dollars more than 12 bucks for caps and a capper.

Kegging is easier than bottling. Initial costs make it not cheaper. Not sure how many batches you'd need to keg before te cost equalizes. But the convenience of pouring from keg makes it a win in my book.

Golddiggie said:

Kegging is easier than bottling. Initial costs make it not cheaper. Not sure how many batches you'd need to keg before te cost equalizes. But the convenience of pouring from keg makes it a win in my book.

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Whether it's easier or not is really a personally matter. Bottling is a piece of cake to me. It's bang bang bang 45 minutes and I'm done.

But the guy stated that kegging is cheaper than bottling, and I want to know how he believes that.

Revvy said:

What planet are you living on?

Bottles = free
Caps = 2 bucks for 12 dozen
Capper = 10 bucks.

How the hell is that more expensive than kegging? Last I heard kegging was several hundred dollars more than 12 bucks for caps and a capper.

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If you don't have access to free bottles, and get them from you LHBS, kegging is waaaayyyyy cheaper. I made that mistake once. It cost me $40 for the bottles for my first brew. Since then I've been posting want ads on craigslist, Facebook, and made friends with a bunch of cute bartenders. If you are trying to get a pipeline going (I've got 4 beers fermenting, and one in bottles) that's roughly $150+ tied up in just bottles if you bought them.

Sure, you'll reuse them, but if your brewing habits are quicker than your drinking habits, that's a ton of money invested in bottles

I will clarify that I have not invested in a kegging setup. Why? Free bottles

How would one go about sanitizing the aluminum bottles?
I know oxyclean is out and bleach would not be an option for me.

Scrubbing real good and boiling them maybe?

Any good, cheap, and easy ideas?

What are some good ways to get a hold of free bottles? I've read that the twist off bottles are a no go.

One a side note: I have about a dozen glass coke bottles that I thought about bottling a dark beer in just for kicks. It's on the to do list, but for now I'm off to buy bottles for my first brew. 14 bucks for a case of 24.

I was reading the details on this through Cask and Ball (supplier of the cans). Looks like min order of cans is 150,000 (Truck load - 53x102). They will run around .07 per so your talking ten five for the cans and that's before shipping, which is running around 1.90/mi plus a 28% fuel surcharge.

Definitely more than I want to spend. This is all above and beyond the initial capitalization for the canning line.

Doc:
I've been told its not difficult to call a few bars and ask them if they will save their bottles for you....you have to provide the vessel though....and then sort through them on your own....

Haven't tried it yet, but it might with a couple of pubs on Main Street in St. Charles.

Check this out:

I'd like to see more about that machine. There's no info in the comments section on youtube, other than it's can conditioned. Looks awesome.