Like it in the can? Sierra Nevada to join the ranks of canning craft brews.

[two_hearted]

Just print "Pour it into a glass, dummy" on the side. Some idiot's going to shotgun a 9% beer without knowing its not a bmc and fall on his ass.

 

[Rivenin]

brew free or die IPA is one i enjoyed in the cans when i lived in cincy, i think you can get it here on the west coast though. they also have quite a few others in the cans..

http://www.21st-amendment.com/beer/brew-free-or-die-ipa

 

[buffalobrewer]

snpa on the links!

 

[SkinnyShamrock]

Good good good good good GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sure you've all heard my rants about bottles, and how they are a creation of Satan.

Canned beers are awesome. Think about it, we'll use Sierra Nevada as an example. Bottle of 9% Bigfoot barleywine...pretty cool. CAN of 9% barleywine. Way cooler. Oskar Blues Ten Fidy is 5 times awesomer than most imperial stouts, because it comes in a can. Brew Free or Die would just be another forgettable IPA if it didn't come in a can.

 

[humann_brewing]

you can go ahead and laugh now

 

[mpruett]

Excellent news. I can have some SN Pale next to my Buried Hatchet Stout in the can rack in my mini fridge.

Isn't the Buried Hatchet Stout just awesome? I can't say I've had a stout or porter that gets the balance that perfect. Believe it or not, it's supposedly 50 IBUs, but you'd never notice because it's not a hop-forward brew.

I'm all for cans. This seems like the beer equivalent of the twist-off vs. synthetic cork vs. natural cork debate in the wine industry. Luckily brewers and beer drinkers seem to be a lot less concerned with pretense and tradition, and more about making/transporting and drinking quality products.

I don't see many downsides- no light exposure, lighter vessel for less shipping, more room for logos, etc... on the sides of the can, no bottle openers required, cans aren't prohibited most places, they're easily recyclable and they fit easier in a lot of coolers and fridges.

The only downsides I see are that the canning equipment is likely more expensive, and us homebrewers can't reuse the cans like we can bottles.

I don't know if an empty can & lid costs more or less than an empty bottle, cap and label, so I won't comment on that.

 

[samc]

5 gallon cans for me - corny!

 

[user 21663]

The only downsides I see are that the canning equipment is likely more expensive, and us homebrewers can't reuse the cans like we can bottles.

Besides, have you ever tried to crush a bottle on your forehead after having a few...it hurts.

I would hope the cost of shipping would be lower to help offset the cost of canning. And if more an more craft breweries go to canning, that would help drive down the cost a bit as well as more canning lines are produced.

 

[metaltim]

canning is insanely more expensive though. An article that I was reading said that cans have to be ordered in quantities of at least 80,000.

Here's 2 articles that I saved (on this comp)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112575361
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/16/AR2009061600881.html

You linked an article that states the exact opposite of what you just said


from the wasington post article
"But better beer in cans is still relatively rare. Of the 446 microbreweries and 990 brew pubs known to be operating in the United States, only about 40 can their beer. Most use equipment from Cask Brewing Systems, a Canadian company that leveled the playing field by offering portable canning lines at prices even the smallest brewery could afford. "

 

[pernox]

Good for fishing in the "no glass bottles allowed" state areas that litter Western MA. If Oskar Blues can get it right, I'm sure Sierra Nevada is capable of the same.

Good on ya, SN!

 

[febbrewro]

I love craft beer in cans, I can bring it on the boat and avoid a day of crap beer!

 

[Hoppin_Mad]

Best camping beer ever....

 

[Wayne1]

You might want to take a look at this article.

Right now 100 craft breweries are offering their wares canned.

 

[Wayne1]

Here is a link to the CraftCans.com database which shows canned craft beers offered by brewers in a state by state break down.

State Breakdown

Colorado leads with 41 beers offered by 14 different breweries. This does NOT count MillerCoors or Anheuser-Busch.

Colorado craft beer in Cans

 

[CoolHandLuke]

Back in the 90's my class reviewed a case study as part of an Industrial engineering major. A particular huge brewery would determine which container was most appropriate for their product(s) based on the quality of the beer. The beer which was determined to be ideal was kegged, almost ideal went into bottles, and the least ideal went into cans. They chose this based on the likelihood of complaint or likelihood of return of the product. Needless to say, customers who purchased the product in cans were least likely to complain or attempt return. It was an eye-opener at the time, but I am not certain it is applicable to the much smaller microbrew industry.

That said, there are visible signs of mishandling beer which include taste, smell, and sight cues. With bottles, unintended sediment or an off-shade can indicate heat or light exposure. In particular, I use sight cues reliably when purchasing Anchor's Liberty Ale down here in sunny FL. For this particular product, I would likely never purchase it in a can. Bad beer seems more of a distributor problem in FL than anything else. Here light generally equates to heat exposure. Therefore bottles seem king for FL.

 

[pm5k00]

i have no problem with cans, i love to get Shiner Bock or Fat Tire in a can for when i float the river.

 

[jonmohno]

I always thought it was appealing to see a ipa or pale ale in a can.But the few i tried, Breckanridge for instance ipa i noticed a metallic taste only for the first few taste though. I have tried some local stuff that is mediocre but the can made it pretty decent.
There are some pros to cans though which i get.But man, you cant bottle your beer with those, i was getting cans and twist tops just because i have too many bottles as it is dormant.ha. It does seem to be a promising trend type seller, maybe envoking some non craft beer drinkers,i assume. People think " oh cans !cheaper than bottles.first thing.Craft beer ,cheaper?Ill buy it."

 

[Wakadaka]

Are they going to still bottle (er I mean can) carbonate the beer? That would just be weird.

And I am somewhat disappointed, I have never liked beer from a can for some reason, its probably in my head, but I have compared a PBR from a can and from a bottle, and I thought the bottle was much better. Both were poured into a glass. Probably me just trying to be all fancy and hang with the wine snobs and think others are less than me.

But also anywhere that doesn't allow glass is also easily remedied by plastic bottles full of homebrew.

I'd guess its better for the environment, and I am sure at some point I will need cans for something, and then jump on board with it being a great idea as well.

 

[jonmohno]

call me when i can get a 6-pack ring of Pale Ale tall cans

We have had some Red ale and pale ales in locally distributed in 16 oz cans around here. Only thing is they are 4 PACKS! What the..

 

[jeffjm]

The only imports I have had that didn't have freshness problems were in cans.

What is possibly my new favorite brewery, Tallgrass, uses cans.

Bring it on!

 

[duckmanco]

I think the metallic taste many people pick up is all in their heads. I remember hearing someone from 21st amendment commenting on how the new cans have a water based liner inside the can that negates all of the metallic taste issues.

I'm sure not ALL the breweries use the same cans but still, the pepsi challenge with the same beer from bottles and cans should be done. I bet most don't notice a thing. Surly, Caldera, 21st A..... all of it tastes great to me.

 

[Revvy]

I think the metallic taste many people pick up is all in their heads.

I agree, I think the bias against them are so strong that people are going to think they're picking up on stuff like that. When in reality cans are not the same cans from 20 years ago. I mean we open soup and other products in cans all the time and don't detect anything. It's funny to watch folks respond that way, it's really just an anti bmc elitist beersnob bias and nothing more. BMC comes in cans, therefore cans are bad.

 

[broadbill]

And I am somewhat disappointed, I have never liked beer from a can for some reason, its probably in my head, but I have compared a PBR from a can and from a bottle, and I thought the bottle was much better. Both were poured into a glass.

Did you pour them into the glass yourself, or did you have someone else pour them and serve them to you blind?

 

[tnshurtm]

It might be partially in my head, but I still won't take it in the can.

This quote is awesome with no context...

I just hope they don't just sell 6-packs. It is way too expensive....30-pack of SNPA for me!!!!