It’s not what you think! It’s not cheap beer with a metallic taste from the old days. This is new. This is all about quality. This month, we are featuring unique craft beer in cans from microbreweries in Colorado and Texas. The craft beer industry is experiencing an enormous growth in packaging in cans. There are now over 1800 craft beers in cans currently in the United States from over 500 different craft brewers.
People consider draft beer to be the freshest — the best beer you can get, so we like to think of the can as a mini-keg that delivers draft-quality fresh beer to your glass.
The main reason for this revolution is, cans can guarantee a higher purity of taste by preventing light damage as well as oxidation — the two most likely beer spoilers. Craft brewers love this reason. If cans didn’t offer a better-tasting beer then craft breweries wouldn’t package in them!
The benefits of cans include portability, space-savings, faster cooling, light-resistant protection for the beer, and super recyclability. A beer in a can also taste fresher longer when compared to bottled beer. Other benefits of cans include the ability to enjoy them in outdoor activities such as hiking, by the pool, at the beach or at the park, where glass bottles are prohibited.
Most people still have a pre-conceived notion that cans make your beer taste metallic. This simply isn’t the case. A unique liner in all the new aluminum cans protects the beer from even touching
the metal. Years ago the combination of poor quality beer and the old cans (that allowed the beer to interact with the uncoated interior of the metal cans) resulted in the tinny taste.
Thanks to the craft brewers who have taken over this improved packaging process, the Beer Can Revolution is a success. Canning beer is really a science that craft brewers take very seriously. The cans go through an X-ray machine, ensuring a proper seal. The cans are further tested for correct fill levels, oxidation issues and bacterial growth. Thus, cans undergo all the same rigorous testing as bottles, yet offer more benefits to the consumer.
Having said all that, rest assured your favorite Beer of the Month Club is NOT changing our club to an “All Can Plan!” This shipment is your opportunity to experience something new that craft breweries have to offer. The Great American Beer Club® plans to do an all can shipment perhaps three times a year.
Beer in a can is a new and quickly expanding trend. As always, whether in a bottle or can, craft beer is at its best when first poured into a super clean glass to bring out its bouquet and full flavors.
During the late 1800’s in the U.S., canned foods were plentiful. In 1909 the American Can Company first unsuccessfully tried to can beer. After years of research, they finally met with success in 1933, by coating the inside of pressurized tin cans.
