I think the last thing I read was from one of the manufacturers of the cans - sure there’s BPA but none that will make it into your system. (not saying that I believe or disbelieve, just that I read) That was a while back and I haven’t heard anything on the subject since.
Well that’s not entirely out of the question ;D till you realize that the minimum order for the cans is about $20k. Now that’s out of the question!
That seems a whole lot easier than strapping a keg to my frame pack 
Even at a small brewery in Kearney, NE. Cheers!!! http://www.thunderheadbrewing.com/6packs.php
Been enjoying SlyFox’s Pikeland Pils in cans for a few months. Nice beer.
Fat tire is very bad in cans. I’m not the biggest fan of it period but man is it awful in a can. It’s not even the same beer. Oskar Blues on the other hand has really nailed canning down. Every one of their beers is excellent. I’ve noticed most brewery’s here in Colorado have at least 1 brew in a can. Like all have said before it’s very enjoyable for camping and living up everything Colorado has to offer.
Canned brew makes sense. Its great to see more breweries going in that direction. Sun King in Indy is canning and their beer is definitely worth drinking.
I don’t think that the issue mentioned above with Fat Tire is due to canning. IMHO, Fat Tire is not all that great a beer but its sort of like SA Boston Lager in that its a middle of the road taste that the typical BMC drinker is willing to try more than once. It does pay the bills and that certainly allows New Belgian to do MUCH better brewing.
I think the problem is with canning. I have tasted bottled and canned versions side-by-side, and the canned versions were awful.
I have a friend who works at Sam Adams, and they’re looking into canning. However, he specifically said that the quality issue that New Belgium was having was one of the things giving them doubts.
I have also done a side by side taste. Bottles being sup par and the canned being awful. I’m glad other Co. craft brewery’s haven’t had this problem.
I’ve dumped a case of various 21st A cans down the drain (watermelon, B n B etc). Never had a bad can o’ Dale’s Pale, Brewer’s Art Resurrection, or Butternuts anything though… So might just be 21st A’s supplier or the temp during shipment? So I’ll try anything in cans but 21st A.
Brewer’s Art cans their beers now? Sweet. I’ll have to look for that next time I’m in Baltimore.
Gotta love a place with a beer called “Ozzy” as the Belgian Golden Strong (go ahead, figure it out). Too bad they replaced their old tap handle (the metal finger sign: \m/) with a pitchfork. That always cracked me up.
Man I just drove through there and did not even have a clue… ::)
note to self: check for microbrewery locations prior to traveling.
Bottles and cans are brewed for Brewer’s Art up at Sly Fox, I think. Resurrection is the only one canned so far. I definitely welcome the trend.
In response to the previous poster, I’ve never had a good Butternuts anything, but I’m not sure I can blame the cans.
I agree. I just picked up a mixed 12 pack of Butternuts. My reaction was meh, to Bleh! Pretty weak beers. It seems they only pack in cans and draft. They seem to be more about novelty and marketing than quality. My kids thought it was soda based on the can designs!
I have noticed more cans of late also. I have mixed feelings about it. I kind of like the novelty, but I am still not wholly convinced it is a good idea. It certainly does not seem to be from a price perspective! When I picked up the Butternuts I noticed they had some Oskar blues also (Old chubb and Dale’s). It was $14 for a 6 pack!!! I have also seen Cisco (out of Nantucket) beers in a 12 pack for $19!!! I have yet to try a beer of theirs I would buy again so there is no way I’ll pay $19 for a 12 pack of cans!
Perhaps cans are better protection, perhaps not. They don’t seem to be more cost effective than glass from what I have seen though. This despite recent spikes in glass prices.
Tallgrass Brewery in Manhattan Kansas recently went to all can. I don’t like buying beer in cans because then I don’t get anymore bottles for my home brew. So I stopped buying their product. I wish they would give you a choice. I do agree that anything sold in a green bottle is horrible. It is always light struck. So if I were to buy a hieniken I would definitely buy it in cans.
Sly Fox out of the Philadelphia region cans all of their beers, they do a very nice flight. I particularly like their Pikeland Pils - it’s a spot-on German Pilsner.
I also second the Sun King recommendation. They’re a fantastic brewery.
You wouldn’t believe what an absolute PITA it is trying to anticipate demand and balance the can/bottle production and inventory.
I prefer to drink my beer from 5 gallon and 15.5 gallon cans!
(not all in one sitting of course)
I believe the new start up around the corner from me, Carton Brewing Co., will can and keg. I can’t wait for them to get up and running so I can sample and send in a full report ;D
Usually I find the canned version better if I can get both, though often if there is both it is some large brewery in Europe that probably has a very high end canning system and employees engineers and what not.
I think Tallgrass has had some QA issues with cans (oxidation). Their cans seem extremely full lately which I think is intended to combat that. The real problem is that pre-evacation is not working, I would fix it at the root (maybe they have, I can get Tallgrass draught so I rarely buy the cans other than maybe to take to a competition where it isn’t sold to share).
I just got a 4-pack of Brewdog Punk IPA cans. Gonna try one tonight, although I feel like I should be watching baseball (cricket?) while doing so.