Yes people… the humble can of beer. While ubiquitous in supermarkets, refrigerators, and swap meets, it was always the red-headed stepchild (though I love red headed stepchildren, or redheads of any sort) to bottles and drafts.
The universe has slowly been shifting and it’s coming to a head (tee hee).
More and more brewers are embracing the can for its ease of use and insulation capabilities. You even have aluminum bottles now are ballparks and theaters around the country (they hurt less when thrown). Some, like Brooklyn’s great Six Point (Sweet Action is a SICK beer), just came out with cans for distribution…only cans as far as I know.
Perhaps the advent of PBR in a can being a cool, hipster beer was the chink in the bottle/tap armor?
There is even a local bar trying to be the next Hooters, where they sell about 100 canned beers and even make walls out of beer cans. Canz@Citi Roadhouse…an awesome place, by the way.
I myself have been buying cans. You know I love PBR, but also good beers like Brooklyn Lager. It just seems to work better. Fits in the fridge better. It’s also typically a bit cheaper.
And here’s some proof to back all this blasphemy up:
The number of U.S. craft breweries producing beer in aluminum cans has tripled since 2009 to about 150, the Washington Post recently reported. By the end of this year, half of the U.S. market’s top 25 craft brewers are expected to be utilizing cans, which have gained favor due to lower shipping costs and canning lines’ smaller spatial footprint versus bottling lines, as well as better portability and ability to keep out oxygen. One problem with aluminum cans is the tendency for their linings to contain the chemical Bisphenol A, which has been linked to endocrine and reproductive issues. Still, even longtime skeptics like Jim Koch, founder of Boston Beer, are now exploring cans for some of their products. Source: Shanken News Daily
Happy shotgunning!