How do you feel about beer in cans? What about craft beer in cans? This past year has seen the release of several new canned beers from some of our favorite craft breweries. But it's more than just a trendy move for hipster beer drinkers; there are some good arguments for shifting to the can.
Who's in on this trend? Brewers like Oskar Blues and 21st Amendment have been selling their beers in cans for years. Brooklyn Brewery has come on board with a canned release of their summer ale while Flying Dog released their Atlantic Lager.
Just this spring, Sierra Nevada joined the fray with canned versions of their Pale Ale and IPA. New Belgium Brewing Co. has also just released their new Shift Pale Lager only in cans, a nod to what we all crave at the end of a long shift.
Yes, it's a trend with definite market appeal. Kind of a retro throw-back, "stick it to the man" kind of a thing. But it's not all about striking a pose and looking cool.
The enemies of good beer are light and oxygen, which take a beer from fresh to skunked in no time. In a can, beer is 100% protected from both. Cans are also lighter, less prone to breaking, and cost less for breweries to both produce and to ship.
On the consumer end, cans are easier to carry to the beach or on a boat, and you can often take them into places like stadiums or parks where glass isn't allowed. Aluminum is also easier to recycle than glass bottles in many places.
If you're worried about beer taking on a metallic taste in the can, that particular nuisance is long gone. Cans are now lined with a polymer that prevents actual contact between the beer and metal (though it usually does, admittedly, contain some BPA).
Are you ready to embrace canned beers, or are you sticking to glass bottles?
Related: Past Its Prime: Does Beer Ever Expire?
(Image: Flickr member Hop Talk licensed under Creative Commons)
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I'm a huge fan of beer in cans, since I live in New Orleans (drinking outside is allowed, just not in glass containers). I'm very excited about this trend. However, I can notice a difference in taste - somehow, beer from a glass just tastes better. Maybe it's just mental. But it's not enough to stop me from buying canned beer! Viva la cans!
Love it! My favorite brewing company in Alaska has started doing this - it is especially nice since we can't recycle glass up here.
'Hipster trends' aside...
..whatever happened to returnable bottles?
A friend of mine works in a beer store and has a blog where he writes about beers (Here: http://beerbeerbeerbeerbeer.tumblr.com/post/20639113540/sixpoint-bengali-tiger is a review of one of the "canned" beers he's reviewed), and part of his job is taking back the empties and paying people their bottle deposits, so yes bottles are definitely still returnable. Both glass and aluminum are recyclable, though, and I'm sure there is analysis somewhere of the environmental costs/benefits of the process for each.
I feel like it's colder from a can too.
While I try to avoid BPA more often than not, I do appreciate cans for keeping my beer away from light and air. That being said, it doesn't really make a difference in my beer drinking experience, because I firmly believe that all beer should be served in a (style-appropriate) glass. I don't ever find myself drinking beer directly out of a can or a glass bottle.
Scotch Ale - Old Chubb is my favorite canned beer...
Cans are the best for camping - much easier to bring in or out, and smooshed when empty makes them take up much less space than bottles. I'm super psyched to see good beers being offered in cans!
To avoid the metallic flavor put that beer in a glass. It should be drunk that way, anyhow.