Driving into work this morning, Ursula heard on the radio that a small craft brewery from Maine has decided to distribute all of their beers in cans. HUH?? Isn’t it common knowledge that beer tastes much better when it comes in its brown glass counterpart? Isn’t it fresher than the tinny aftertaste you get from the canned big distributors? Well, let’s find out.
Luke Livingston, the founder and president of Baxter Brewing Company, has 3 reasons for canning all their beers, which has made Baxter Brewing the First All-Canned Craft Brewery of New England:
1. Cans are better for the environment. Our cans, which come from Ball Corp., are made of a minimum of 50% post-consumer recycled aluminum and are infinitely recyclable. Americans are also at least twice as likely to recycle aluminum as they are glass, so our packaging will continue to help the environment, even after the beer is consumed. Cans require less energy to create than glass bottles and less fuel to ship to the brewery, since empty cans weigh far less than empty bottles. Consequently, they weigh less when filled and thus require less fuel to ship to the end-user.
2. Cans are better for the beer. The beer in our cans has never seen UV light, which spells death for fresh beer. Every glass bottle, regardless of the color of the glass, will let some UV light in over time, resulting in spoiled or “skunked” beer. Anything you drink from a glass bottle will be less fresh than the same beer in a can. Our dissolved oxygen levels are much lower than similar beers in bottles (again, helping the beer maintain freshness) and our packaging cools down much faster than thick glass bottles, so you can be drinking the beer sooner!
3. Cans can go where glass cannot. How many times have you been somewhere outside where you have wanted a high-quality, flavorful craft beer but weren’t able to because glass was frowned upon or was flat out not allowed? The park, the pool, the beach, the golf course, the disc golf course, the sailboat; camping, hiking, fishing, or just lounging in the hammock. Think about it, cans can go where glass cannot.
And if you’re not completely satisfied, Livingston has also stated, “Draft beer comes out of a keg, which is just a big can.” Enough said.
Baxter Brewing Co. began distributing its beer across Maine in the 2010/11 winter season. Expect to find it popping up across northern New England in 2011/12. Let us know if you come across it in your travels and what you think of these canned brews!
