Craft Beer in a Can!

Playing on the Bud Light commercial that’s been loved and loathed recently as a cheap ploy to get your attention, I had my first Dale’s Pale Ale a couple of days ago. Dale’s is made by Oskar Blues, the first craft brewery to achieve great success with packaging craft beers exclusively in cans.

I like to think of myself as a pretty open minded beer drinker, so I wasn’t expecting the shock I got when I took my first sip. Sure, Guinness, Young’s Double Chocolate Stout, and Red Stripe all come in cans, but this was amazing.

The hiss when opening the can was deceptively similar to every other fizzy yellow beer I’ve ever had, but the taste floored me. I was talking to someone while I opened it, but my first taste took me out of the conversation. What was this tastiness in a can? Could it really be that fantastic beers are packaged this way? It was an eye opener for me, but the trend of canning is catching on.

Charlie Papazian wrote an interesting article last month about the rising trend of canning in craft beer. In it, he says that 52 craft breweries are now canning. I think canning is a great idea. Besides the juvenile puns, canning brings huge convenience to craft beer. It’s more compact than bottles. You can bring it anywhere the law allows alcohol, and if you have one too many and get a case of the drops, you don’t have an uncomfortable “try to find all the glass” moment.

Once more, because I can’t help myself. I can’t wait to get it in the can again.

Related Posts

1. Tacoma Craft Beer Festival
   Tomorrow, Sept. 3rd, from noon until 9PM, beer lovers living in the Pacific Northwest will have the chance to taste craft beers from over 40...
2. Craft Beer Calendar: Notable Craft Beer Events – Week of September 6th
   Tuesday, September 7, 2010 Cambridge, MA: Berkshire Brewing Co. Beer Dinner Location: Cambridge Common Time: 6:30PM Description: This event hosts a delectable menu of gourmet...
3. Craft Beer Calendar: Notable Craft Beer Events — Week of August 16th
   There are lots of great beer event listing sites out on the “interwebz” such as Beer Advocate, Rate Beer, and Craftbeer.com. These sites have a...
4. Craft Beer Calendar: Notable Craft Beer Events – Week of August 30th
   Tuesday, August 31, 2010 Willoughby, OH: Troegs Beer Party Location: Ballantine Bar Time: 6:30PM Description: “Come meet Mike Watters of Troegs Brewery as you sample...
5. Craft Beer Calendar: Notable Craft Beer Events – Week of August 23rd
   Monday, August 23, 2010 Pittsburgh, PA: Bell’s Brewing Tap Takeover Location: Harris Grill Time: 7:00PM Description: “Harris Grill will be tapping a bunch of Bell’s...