Canning Craft Beer

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Katechis has become something of a can evangelist, and has encouraged other craft brewers to pack their beer in metal. Today the folks at Cask Brewing count more than 30 breweries that use their equipment, and the varieties that they can is tremendous. I just bought four cases of beer for a long weekend upstate—all cans, from three different breweries: I.P.A. from New England Brewing in Connecticut, pilsner and pale ale from Sly Fox in Pennsylvania, and Old Chub Scottish ale from Oskar Blues.

It just makes sense. The can is a superior package to the bottle. Cans are lighter and take up less space, making them cheaper to transport and store. They’re more durable once filled. Cans are completely lightproof, meaning the beer won’t get “skunked,” acquiring the nasty odor that comes from hops compounds breaking down in sunlight. Cans today come with a lining that keeps beer away from the aluminum, eliminating the metallic taste that used to affect canned beer. They seal up with very little air in the can, keeping the beer fresh longer. They’re even cheaper to recycle. Any “but it’s a can” stigma evaporates with the first taste of the emphatically nonmainstream taste.

It’s not clear if it’s a spreading trend, or just a package that works well for new niche players in the market. The established players in craft brewing are too big to make the switch to cans on a whim. They’re looking for a solid record before they purchase the expensive high-speed canners they’d need to accommodate their big supply pipeline—proof that canned beer is not just a gimmick. Smaller brewers without a bottling line can jump right to Cask’s low-cost canning setup, which is what you’re seeing for now.

Beer drinkers have taken to canned craft brews—cans sell as fast as brewers can fill them, and the doubters have faded away on the beer-geek discussion websites—but there’s not a lot of popping the top and guzzling from the can going on. “How many people buy a Belgian tripel and drink it from the bottle?” Katechis challenged. He advocates pouring the beer from the can into a glass.

That’s okay, but when I’m out “recreating” with a couple of cases of Sly Fox pilsner cans in the cooler, I don’t see any reason not to pop one open and enjoy it right from the can. Maybe it’s not at 100 percent full beer-geek enjoyment, but it’s quick, it feels normal, and it tastes good.

Katechis is right about one thing, though: “It’s kind of fun that you can smash one on your forehead when you’re done.” Light beer or not, boys will be boys.

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