Greetings, all.
Man, here we are about to hit the 4th of July. Summer is in full swing and we’re now only a couple months away from SCBP 10! We’ll have lots of upcoming announcements about our fantastic and generous sponsors, brewers, and food partners involved in our Tenth anniversary celebration. Oh, and ticket on-sale dates, too!So I don’t know about you guys, but there’s something about the summer and outdoor activities that really make me think of beer in cans. 12 ounce containers of the aluminum variety got a bad rap for a while in the craft scene. Long considered to be better suited to fizzy, yellow water, the scene has pulled a 180 on canning, and for good reason.
- They’re usually cheaper.
- They are easier and lighter to ship than glass bottles. This is good for your pockets and for the environment.
- No light pollution means no skunking! Even the brownest of brown bottles lets in some UV, which we all know does not mix well with the little molecules that create all of the desired flavors in our favorite brews.
- Aluminum is all access. There’s lots of summertime activities that frown on the addition of small, jagged pieces of glass to the equation. Therefore, cans are handy for the many places that don’t allow bottles. Now that Crowlers are a thing, your options for fresh beer on the go are ever expanding.
Me personally, I love the feeling of a cold can of good beer outside on a warm day or at night by a bright fire. Plus, it’s easier to utilize my ever-growing collection of koozies! That is, if I want to cover up some great art. Here’s a few of my favorite can designs currently being offered by Big Pour brewers:
Troegs Perpetual IPA
I love the new look designs rolled out by Troegs last year. Very simplistic but with an artistic flair, the whole line up looks fantastic. Troegs had some great looking cans before this, and Perpetual was one of my favorites then. Dig the white background. Really a classy looking beverage.
Lavery Dulachan IPA
I really appreciate the all-over design and the stenciled look of the hop pattern. These are done in a vinyl wrap over the can, which really gives the design full range over the can. The logo placement and all the wording really ties together on the can. Nothing looks tacked on.
Victory Headwaters Ale
When Victory decided to go canning in 2015, they took the opportunity to give their aluminum-clad packaging a slightly different flair than their bottles. The cans all feature a slightly vintage, rustic feel to them, with a little bit of patina around the design. This is the relaunched Headwaters Ale, and the logo itself is great, but I really love the woodgrain background. Not to mention the fact that proceeds for ever sale of Headwaters has so far contributed over $35,000 to water advocacy groups.
Hitchhiker Brewology Series
You have to give it to Hitchhiker for creating unique labels for their Crowlers. From The Barbarian IPA to their Trial By Fire saison, the brewery has put out some really awesome artwork. But their collaboration with fellow SCBP alum Mark Brewer is really fantastic. Featuring art from Brewer’s book “Brewology”, these labels were only used for a limited time. They are truly art on a can. (Ok, Crowler.)
East End Gratitude
Long time fans of EEBC’s big, beautiful barleywine bottles were in for a surprise this spring, when the Larimer brewery released a BBA variant of their 2016 Gratitude in 16oz cans (pahnders!). Long known for the extra effort put into the limited release beer, this can pays homage to the ubiquitous wax that occupied the top of the past bottles. It captures the entire spirit of the Gratitude bottle art, originally hand labeled and featuring different works by Mary Tremonte.
Whatever you drink and wherever you drink it, I hope it’s in a cool can!
