Canned Beer

Some people shutter at the idea of drinking beer from a can. After all, if you asked the average person of the first canned beer they picture in their head, chances are they won't say, "21st Amendment Brewery Monk's Blood." Macrobreweries have largely been responsible for the empty beer cans littered in or near your neighborhood. When the craft beer movement took off, a staggering majority (if not all) of its results were distributed in keg or bottle. This is definitely not the case anymore. At first there were a couple of canned craft beers at your local beer store...now you've probably noticed that section grow a little larger each time you go.

What took so long? Many of the masterminds behind the quality beer that we drink are also hippy-types, trying to be as ecologically responsible at their breweries as they can. Canning beer is arguably better for the planet than bottling. According to Oskar Blues, recycling aluminum cans generates much less pollution than creating new ones; one recycled can saves the energy equivalent of 6 oz of gas or the electricity to power a guitar amp for up to 2 hours. Also, recycling trucks can compact more cans than bottles, saving fuel costs.

The kicker that most anti-can drinkers are held up on is how cans affect the taste of beer, arguing that it can add a metallic taste. To that, sirs and madams, you are wrong. Here's why (from BeerAdvocate): the cans that these beers come in have a water-based lining that separates the beer from the aluminum. Also, cans are completely protected from getting skunked from UV light or from getting oxygenated (which is possible from capped or corked bottles). ALSO, cans cool down quicker than bottles when you put them in the fridge, so you don't have to be as patient (and you don't need a blue mountain to tell you it's ready).

Now I'll be the first to admit that my palate is far from sophisticated, but it just so happens that I had the same beer both on tap and from a can and I was surprised at my impressions tasting both side to side. I've had 21st Amendment's Brew Free or Die! IPA on tap and have been enjoying it slowly (since it's really hoppy and 8% ABV). On my most recent lunchtime field trip with coworkers to the monstrosity of a beer distributor known as Shangy's, someone picked this very same beer, which comes in a can (we each pick a case, then divide them up due to the stingy PA beverage laws). Naturally, I thought this would be a good chance to test tap vs. can, and guess what? I liked can better. It simply just tasted fresher. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not saying that canned beer is better than from the tap, but it just shows that it can definitely stand up to bottled beer.

So don't worry so much about the vessel it comes in - it's what's on the inside that counts (*cue the "More you Know" tune*)