Packaging beer in cans used to be a symbol of inferiority and craft beer producers wouldn’t even think of using anything other than bottles to showcase their finished product. Cans had an image issue, and craft beer lovers demanded that they beer they love best be sold only in a glass container.
But times have changed and more and more breweries are now turning to metal to house their finished good. One of the latest to make the move is the ever- popular Flying Dog Brewery. Starting in April, 2012, Flying Dog will offer its first canned beer to the public. It will be a canned version of Flying Dog Underdog Atlantic Lager and it will be rolled out in Mid- Atlantic states where this seasonal brew is sold.
Many question the move to cans and some craft lovers still scoff at the idea because, besides the image, they are convinced that cans make the beer taste like metal. There was a time when this concern was legitimate; namely, in the days when cans included tin. But those days are long gone and the specially lined aluminum cans that are now used do not impart any metallic taste in the beer at all.
Cans have other advantages to glass that may go overlooked. First, they do not break like glass and second, they offer excellent protection from light. They are good for those who want to take their beer with them to, say, the beach or other place where bottles are not allowed. They tend to maintain freshness a little longer and are lighter, so shipping costs are lower.
Flying Dog is introducing its Underdog Atlantic Lager in cans first, but this is only the beginning. Assuming the cans are accepted by the public (and there is no reason to think otherwise, once consumers taste the product and realize that the quality is good) we can expect to see more Flying Dog products in cans in a relatively short time. The move toward cans is inevitable as the advantages are more fully known and it is only a matter of time until more breweries jump aboard the canning bandwagon.
