Cans are cool in 2019. You couldn’t say that 4 or 5 years ago when the entire market pivoted away from 16 oz cans after consumer demand fell. But thanks to some counter-trend brewers in New England who associated a beer style with the packaging format, cans are now consumers’ packaging format of choice.
Thankfully, canning technology has become affordable for most brewers who want to package their beer, as options range from relatively inexpensive manual one-off seamers from Oktober Designs to tabletop canning lines from Twin Monkeys to more automated and integrated units from Wild Goose, Cask, American Beer Equipment, Codi, Pneumatic Scale Angelus, and others.
But the myriad options also pose challenges for brewers evaluating the various ways to package beer for their consumers, and as with all technology, the machine alone does not guarantee great results. As you’re thinking about packaging options for your brewery, here are some tips, strategies, and techniques that can help you get the best results out of your packaging program.