Somewhere along the way to where craft beer stands now in the world, we all forgot where we came from as beer enthusiasts. It seems that once we discovered the bountiful world of delicious bottled beer that we could afford and indulge in to our hearts delight, we pushed the idea of the canned beers that we so thoroughly enjoyed during our formative years to the curb like a lover who wore out their welcome. We packed them up and sent them on their way, never to be seen again, that is until they changed what was on the inside, and that's what truly counts.
Slowly but surely, canned beers have begun to make an appearance in the craft beer world in what I'm assuming is an effort to satiate the purely nostalgic and aesthetic desires that we as beer drinkers have repressed like a bad memory. Though I'm sure the reasons are more financial since it's far cheaper to can than it is to bottle, but for the sake of this piece, we won't make money the pressing issue.
When most people think of canned beers, what comes to mind are sloppy drunk-fests, marred with the smell of stale, piss warm bud light or (enter generic swill beer name here). In fact, the classiest it seems to get with canned beers is Pabst Blue Ribbon, which while this particular beer blogger thoroughly enjoys from time to time, is not saying much about the stigma involved with canned beers within the craft beer world.
While I'm not sure when the can revolution started, however I can say without a doubt that the biggest name in the scene has to be that of the Oskar Blues brewery out of Colorado who started canning beer back in 2002. Known for their Dales Pale Ale and my new favorite, Old Chub, which somehow makes scotch ale out of a can taste amazing! This brewery also makes an Imperial Stout, an Imperial Red and an Imperial IPA, and while I have yet to try anything besides their Pale Ale and Scotch ale, I can say that if these two beers speak for the rest of them, the fact that Oskars is canning beers exclusively, does not make them any less dominant in the craft beer world. In fact, it might make them more so.
Another brewery making serious waves in the canned revolution is the Butternuts Brewery out of New York. Their Porkslap Pale Ale has a smooth drinkability and complex hop to malt balance and flavor that almost makes you want to pour it into a glass. Their straight up approach to brewing quality beer will serve them well in the years to come as the revolution moves forward. They're currently canning four different beers.
So why cans and why now? Canning beer is less expensive, it causes for less light degradation, it takes less energy to make and ship a can than a bottle, therefore limiting it's impact on the environment, it's more portable, less likely to break and hell, we craft beer drinkers can finally bring our beverages onto the beach! The craft beer world has been isolated as a universe that exists to dump on anything that isn't what we deem good, and that's a shame because not only do we come off as pretentious, people may be less likely to party with us.
Some already established craft breweries have even jumped on board. Magic Hat is now offering #9 in cans, Harpoon is canning it's IPA and summer ale and even Blue Moon has begun canning it's signature Belgian white ale. So with all these breweries adopting the can as its new medium, what does this mean for the craft beer world? Absolutely nothing! Well nothing detrimental anyway. It means that now we can have really good beer in a can no matter where we are. The days of tasteless, light beer swill monopolizing the canned beer industry are over. Now you too can bring your favorite beer on your next outing without worrying about space. Simple as that!
So next time you're out looking for a good new beer, don't overlook the lonely looking six packs at the bottom of the cooler because you think you're too good for a can...because it might just be the other way around this time.
