Anyone else annoyed with newer breweries using cans?

[Billy-Klubb]

Well, I'm sure us Californians aren't who he was talking about...

...But tell us more about this water-for-bottles trade idea. We could use the water!

bottled strait from the river in the middle of farm country. good thing is that you won't get pests or unwanted weeds on your person.

 

[xandersaml]

What are you saying about plastic? All of the canned vegetables and soups and tuna etc. are lined with plastic, and have been for a long time. Gatorade and bottled water and milk comes in plastic. Everything comes in plastic. Wine corks are plastic. The water pipes in your house are probably plastic.

I don't often eat canned vegetables, drink gatorade, or beer out of tuna cans

I have no problem with cans. I prefer glass as it does not contain BPA. The cans are the same as plastic bottles, except for the light infiltration. Brown glass blocks 98% though.
I use them all.

 

[k1ngl1ves]

Bottles make much better spitters for chewing tobacco.

But, I don't chew anymore.

And, I don't buy much commercial beer anymore anyways, so I really don't care either way.

But, I find SNPA tastes better from a bottle than from a can. Probably psychological though.

In other words, meh. But I figured I'd join in on the first world problem ***** fest, since that's what we do on HBT. Half the world doesn't have easy access to a clean drink of water, but let's butch about the packaging vessel beer comes in.

I live within 30 miles of the world's largest supply of fresh water. I'm also in the hvac business.

Bring on the whole Global Warming!!!

 

[bob1852]

I don't often eat canned vegetables, drink gatorade, or beer out of tuna cans

I have no problem with cans. I prefer glass as it does not contain BPA. The cans are the same as plastic bottles, except for the light infiltration. Brown glass blocks 98% though.
I use them all.

Don't the underside of the beer bottle caps have plastic/BPA?

 

[xandersaml]

Funny question, any brewer that knows what they are doing knows cans are a much better medium for storing and transporting beer. Modern cans impart no flavor, and provide full light protection. People have for decades commented beer is best from kegs..guess what modern cans are same. No skunking at all. If you think canned beer is bad you really should just go back to Bud in bottles.

Beer cans are not SS like kegs.

 

[xandersaml]

Don't the underside of the beer bottle caps have plastic/BPA?

How much contact with beer does that have vs. the amount of contact with an entire can lining?

Again, I have no problem with any of the packaging being used.

 

[ol-hazza]

I've noticed a few people saying that cans reduce oxidation, how's that work?

 

[kcmobrewer]

They're crimped and seamed together

 

[slym2none]

Why all the can-hate?

*whistles*

 

[Osborne]

Why all the can-hate?

*whistles*

When posting this thread I didn't think so many people would think I hate cans, I should've clarified a bit better.

 

[mattdee1]

I can’t even remember the last beer I drank directly out of its container, so it’s cans all the way for me. Actually, even when I was a BMCer, I bought nothing but cans for years and years.

You can fit more in the fridge, you can fit more in the cooler, they get cold faster (at least, they seem to), they’re easier to carry in bulk, they don’t skunk… honestly, I can’t think of a single benefit of bottles, OTHER than using the empties for homebrewing.

I hear my 67 year-old mom talking about nearly throwing her back out trying to carry a measly 2 cases of empty bottles out to her car, when she could easily carry 4-5 cases of empty cans in one arm if she’d just get it out of her head that canned beer “tastes like metal”.

 

[Falcon3]

I bought a sizer of bottles of my favorite IPa this week. It was within 3 months of bottling. Drank the first one and it was delicious. Drank the second-OXIDIZED. I'm sick and damn tired of buying bottles and having them taste like cardboard.
Also saying glass recycles as easily as aluminum is like saying a Prius and a bicycle both get good gas mileage, so they're equally good for the environment.

cans are better in pretty much every way. Get over it.

 

[Spartan300man]

It's not the can or the bottle that annoys me, it is the cartoon graphics on the labels on a lot of the craft beer these days. Everybody wants to have a ridiculous name, base on an inside joke, that doesn't relate to the guy at the store looking to spend his money. It's like reading a page of the newspaper comics when you shop the craft beer section. And you still can't tell what kind of style the beer inside is. I am sure I am missing some good beers out here, but if I gotta work and spend too much time deciphering a can or bottle label, it is not worth it and I move on. Some of these brewers forget who their paying customers are. When it comes to packaging graphics, Less is More. Get the message across quick and clearly.

There's my grumpy guy rant for the day. I feel better.

 

[dustinboyd]

Somewhat related, but not totally... Why do big breweries like BMW can AND bottle? Why don't they just pick one? If it's the whole glass on a beach thing, why don't they just exclusively can?

I'm not saying I'm for or against either method, I'm just curious as to why the big places do both.

 

[Homercidal]

My wife likes cans because I never leave them on the kitchen counter after rinsing them out. I find it really hard to return bottles because I feel the need to rinse them and store them for later.

And I mostly keg, so later is usually much, much later.

And, I think I better clean off the counter tonight since I'm reminding myself...

 

[ImNoExpert]

No, I like cans. Lighter recycling bag is easier to take out.

It all tastes the same when drinking form my class or cup.

 

[55x11]

Somewhat related, but not totally... Why do big breweries like BMW can AND bottle? Why don't they just pick one? If it's the whole glass on a beach thing, why don't they just exclusively can?

I'm not saying I'm for or against either method, I'm just curious as to why the big places do both.

because some people (read this thread) won't drink from the cans, since they associate it with lower quality. But younger crowds, especially outdoorsy kind, will prefer cans. If you sell both, you can get both markets.

 

[Spartan300man]

Somewhat related, but not totally... Why do big breweries like BMW can AND bottle? Why don't they just pick one? If it's the whole glass on a beach thing, why don't they just exclusively can?
I'm not saying I'm for or against either method, I'm just curious as to why the big places do both.

It has always been a mystery to me why the big breweries do what they do. Why they need several brands to ‘segment the market’, and produce 20 different Pilsner offerings that are truly within a sliver of each other in terms of taste and flavor, yet they basically ignore the $19B craft beer market. Think of Bud, Bud Light, Natural Light, Busch, Busch Light, Natural Light Ice, Black Crown, Select, Select 55, Michelob, Mich Light, Mich Genuine Draft, MGD Light, Ultra this, Ice filtered that, Krausened this, Beechwood that. I’ll bet 99 percent of their target consumer can’t tell the difference between these beers. I think the packaging is all gimics too, to add news to a bland category. The screw top aluminum cans, cold-sensitive labels, larger openings on the cans lids, screw-tops versus pop-tops.

 

[damlamb]

Alot of craft brewers in my area have been trending towards cans and it seems like a win win situation keeps the beer fresher and they are cheaper. The big disadvantage seems to be storing the cans at the brewery as they are bulky and fragile.

 

[secondbase]

Cans are awesome for bringing to festivals.

 

[drainbamage]

Old Milwaukee, and other cheap swill, only comes in cans. If your selling that quality of product, then it deserves to be put in a can. Good beer deserves a bottle!

Just my $.02.

I used to think this too, until I better understood all the benefits of canning. While it might still be better showmanship for a group to pull out a bomber or 750 ml and pop the cap/cork, if you're drinking from a glass it shouldn't matter either way.

OP, sounds like you need better friends who'll return your bottles.

 

[philipCT]

Something that would hinder use of cans for homebrewers (even if there was a homebrew scale canning setup that were affordable and you could buy cans in smaller qtys): I believe most who bottle are still priming and bottle conditioning/carbonating. I don't believe this would work in a can.

I believe many commercial canneries either carbonate in a brite tank or use inline carbonation equipment right before they are canned.

 

[passedpawn]

Something that would hinder use of cans for homebrewers (even if there was a homebrew scale canning setup that were affordable and you could buy cans in smaller qtys): I believe most who bottle are still priming and bottle conditioning/carbonating. I don't believe this would work in a can.

I believe many commercial canneries either carbonate in a brite tank or use inline carbonation equipment right before they are canned.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in cans is "can conditioned" - there's yeast in there, and also in their bottles. AFAIK they don't carbonate before canning, but I suppose it's possible.

 

[Zekk]

I like cans, get more $$ at the recycling place. $1.85 a lb vs $0.10. Luckily if I ask both my parents and in laws will save their bottles for me (I bottle exclusively).

 

[NickTheGreat]

I like cans. And those aluminum cylinders that they put beer in.

 

[Psylocide]

I like cans because I can open them with a can opener and just skip the glass altogether.

 

[harleybug88]

I never thought I'd say this, (always loved longnecks) but I prefer cans.

Note: the Stroh's case is from 1959.

 

[tagz]

This just doesn't happen in most respectable breweries in U.S. New Belgium brewery has bottles with engravings. So does Sam Adams I think. Stone and others have paint on logos. Lagunitas and Sierra Nevada have shorties but they are different standards. Besides when you put your bottled out in recycling bin they don't go to specific brewery. They get crushed and glass is recycled. Less than 40-% of material used to make new bottles comes from crushed recycled bottles. See my post above.

This isn't 100% true. Around here the bottle return guys separate out the labatt blue bottles. Apparently they get cleaned and reused.

 

[Yellowirenut]

I am all for cans as long as they keep them in Pint size.
The 12oz four pack cans for the price of 6 pack bottles is bull.

my two favorite breweries that only use pint cans
http://www.chapmansbrewing.com/beers/
http://www.sunkingbrewing.com/packaged-seasonal.html
http://www.sunkingbrewing.com/house-beers.html

 

[Yooper]

I first saw 16 ounce cans at Surly in about 2009. I loved their beer, and the packaging made sense.

I don't like the idea of BPA lined cans, and try to avoid most canned foods anyway, but I do love the idea of great beer in cans that I can take everywhere I go, and recycle when done.

Our area often doesn't have glass recycling available, as it's "too expensive to recycle glass", according to Waste Management, due to shipping costs (glass is heavy). Cans are easily recycled, and easily shipped, so I do like that.

 

[hopsandhops]

I never thought I'd say this, (always loved longnecks) but I prefer cans.

Note: the Stroh's case is from 1959.

Seconded. Hoppy brews just seem so much better preserved when poured from a can. Some even seem better from the can itself. It's still hard for me to believe.

 

[philipCT]

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in cans is "can conditioned" - there's yeast in there, and also in their bottles. AFAIK they don't carbonate before canning, but I suppose it's possible.

That's amazing. So are you saying that they prime and carbonate in the can? Given how flimsy those cans are I would not have imagined they would hold the pressure generated by carbonation without getting distorted.

Would be interested to hear more from anyone with pro experience around this.

 

[PlexVector]

The wife only tends to like Corona lite, which I'll have one sometimes with her for old times sake. Of course she sticks a lime in the bottle and I pour mine in a glass without lime now. She brought home the can version a couple of months ago and I could tell the difference. It was like drinking a session lager.

 

[passedpawn]

The wife only tends to like Corona lite, which I'll have one sometimes with her for old times sake. Of course she sticks a lime in the bottle and I pour mine in a glass without lime now. She brought home the can version a couple of months ago and I could tell the difference. It was like drinking a session lager.

As the story goes (and this might be myth), Corona's are "skunked" due to their clear bottles. But because this is a flavor that people are looking for, the bottles were never changed to brown, even after the effect was understood. If that's true, then the canned version should taste different (tastes better? that's in the eye of the beerholder).

 

[Kirkwooder]

As the story goes (and this might be myth), Corona's are "skunked" due to their clear bottles. But because this is a flavor that people are looking for, the bottles were never changed to brown, even after the effect was understood. If that's true, then the canned version should taste different (tastes better? that's in the eye of the beerholder).

I read somewhere, I don't remember where, that they even expose the beer going into the cans to some artificial light source to try and replicate the "skunk" factor.

 

[Newsman]

(snip)
yes to recycle a can vs a bottle might be easier but in other countries, bottles are re-used. you go to the back of a restaurant/bar and there are mountains of crates filled with empty bottles. the beer companies charge a deposit for their bottles and plastic crate.
when the beer guy comes to drop off new cases, they pick up the empty cases, if some are missing, tack on a new deposit for said bottles, back to the brewery they go, cleaned and packaged up with more beer.

all that said, if there was a cheap canning machine and i didnt have to buy crates of cans, id can in a second

Not so here in the good ol' USA. Here the bottles are 100% disposable. You go into any bar and ask if you can have some of their empties and they'll be glad to give them away.

OP, you might want to try that approach.

 

[Wayne1]

That's amazing. So are you saying that they prime and carbonate in the can? Given how flimsy those cans are I would not have imagined they would hold the pressure generated by carbonation without getting distorted.

Would be interested to hear more from anyone with pro experience around this.

http://beerpulse.com/2012/07/sierra-nevada-on-the-cans-vs-bottles-debate/

Spartan300man It's not the can or the bottle that annoys me, it is the cartoon graphics on the labels on a lot of the craft beer these days. Everybody wants to have a ridiculous name, base on an inside joke, that doesn't relate to the guy at the store looking to spend his money. It's like reading a page of the newspaper comics when you shop the craft beer section. And you still can't tell what kind of style the beer inside is. I am sure I am missing some good beers out here, but if I gotta work and spend too much time deciphering a can or bottle label, it is not worth it and I move on. Some of these brewers forget who their paying customers are. When it comes to packaging graphics, Less is More. Get the message across quick and clearly.

There's my grumpy guy rant for the day. I feel better.

How about this packaging?

 

[Psylocide]

As the story goes (and this might be myth), Corona's are "skunked" due to their clear bottles. But because this is a flavor that people are looking for, the bottles were never changed to brown, even after the effect was understood. If that's true, then the canned version should taste different (tastes better? that's in the eye of the beerholder).

We can even do it on the homebrew level... you know, if you're into that sort of thing....

 

[JoshuaW]

Cans are also a royal PITA for the breweries. Huge minimum orders, expensive canning lines, etc. They do it because it really is better for the environment, and more importantly, it is better for the beer. Cost does play into it, but its not as significant as you are probably thinking.

I will take canned beer over bottles any day.

 

[DurtyChemist]

All the new craft breweries in my state use cans instead of bottles this sucks! Now I have to choose between supporting local breweries and bottling from my keg which I do quite often. When touring a local brewery the tour guide was talking bout how much "better for the environment" cans are... I just scoffed and thought yeah right your doing it because it's cheaper.

I like cans more for multiple reasons.

1. Cans are allowed into State parks and events here
2. Cans are easier to store when they're empty. Smash them and they take up a lot less space. This can be important if camping/backpacking/hiking/etc.
3. Cans ARE better for the environment. It takes a LOT more fuel to burn glass to get it to reshape into a liquid state then be cooled to a solid form. Aluminum cans also don't need brand new materials to make cans. Clear glass bottles can only be made from new sand. Brown is the only color you can make from recycled bottles.
4. Cans are easier to stack/store in a cooler.
5. Cans do not allow light to penetrate. Brown is good. Aluminum is better.

Did you ask them how much it costs to buy a can vs. buy a bottle? Why not? You would have found out if it WAS cheaper instead of assuming it's a cost savings thing.