The Pros and Cons of Canned Craft Beer

For seasoned craft beer drinkers or even newer folks like myself, it can be hard to get away from the stereotype that good craft beer only comes in bottles. Some craft breweries have caught on to the idea of cans already, but overall, when I roam through my favorite beer shops, its filled with an overwhelming amount of bottles. There are many reasons for this. One reason being that small breweries or new breweries can often find good deals on used bottling line equipment to get production started. This was the case for Arcadia Ales out of Battle Creek, Michigan to name one example, and I'm sure many others. But now, we're starting to see a trend in canned craft beer that I can't deny my excitement for.

There are a lot of arguments regarding the economic impact of bottling versus canning. It is my understanding that if recycling programs didn't exist, bottles would be much more cost effective and would impact the environment quite a bit less. The mining of bauxite, the aluminum ore chiefly responsible for the cans you drink out of, is pretty land scarring. Additionally, it takes nearly twice as much energy to mine and manufacture bauxite into a can as it does to turn silica into a glass bottle. Why am I arguing for cans, then, you ask? Because recycling does exist, and that really changes things.

Recycling programs allow both cans and bottles to be repurposed and turned into new cans and bottles (among other things). That should be old news to all of my readers. What you may not know is that around 40% of an aluminum can can be recycled, while only about 20-30% of a glass bottle can be repurposed. Additionally. the energy savings you accumulate by recycling a ton of aluminum cans is much higher than when you recycle glass. There is nearly 96% energy savings accumulated in recycling a ton of aluminum, while glass only yields around 26%. While recycling only accounts for a portion of can and bottle production, there is a significant amount of energy saved per can.

There are many non-environmental arguments for canned beer. A lot of public areas (where drinking is legal, of course) still prohibit glass bottles. Unless you want to pony up to a case of Natty Light like my roommates, I think you'll be thanking craft breweries for switching to cans when you hit your favorite park or beach this summer. Safety is another factor. Cans aren't danger free, but it's more likely that you cut yourself on broken glass. Plus, I've never heard of anyone breaking an aluminum can over someone's head in a bar fight. You can't easily skunk a beer in an aluminum can, but the light damage to beer stored in clear or green bottles can. Cans are versatile, and they also allow for breweries to get creative with new labels as they adapt from paper versions to printing direct on aluminum.

I can't deny that bottles trump cans in some cases. For example, you can't acheive the same elegance for an anniversary ale or limited edition brew if you store it in a deuce rather than a 750ml bottle. Additionally, many breweries haven't taken the plunge with canned beer yet, so you may not be able to get some of your favorites in a bottle. On the flipside, newer breweries such as Brewery Vivant out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, distribute strictly from cans. You can read their argument (perhaps a little more can-biased that this post) here. The main point I'd like to stress here is that everyone should be open to the idea of craft beer, regardless of its container. Happy drinking!