Beer in cans

[Lee Knights]

I am cooking the Sunday roast whilst supping a Magic Rock Cannonball (7.4% abv) from a 330ml can. This was from a mixed 12 pack of MR canned beers and I must say I was a bit apprehensive at first buying cans.

Has the technology changed these days because there is no hint of the metallic taste you used to get years ago? Gone are the days when my Dad used to drink Stones Bitter from cans (that really was horrible stuff), and recently it seems the best beers are the ones in bottle, usually bottle conditioned.

Anyway, this Cannonball is fantastic, fresh and hoppy, carrying it's high alcohol well.

 

[Bryan Collins]

I had two of those yesterday, having bought a full slab from Cotteridge Wines before Christmas. I don't think Magic Rock release this in bottle at all any more.

Cans are seen as very much de rigueur these days, particularly for highly-hopped IPA-style beers that should be drunk when as fresh as possible. Beavertown bottle some of their beers exclusively in cans, as do some of the American craft brewers. I don't know whether there's been any change in technology, but not as far as I know.

 

[Damian Hosty]

I think there has been a change in the process. I think the can is now lined with something that prevents contamination and maybe the soldering agents are different?
The reason the craft folk have got into cans is because it prevents light and oxygen getting through much more effectively.
My understanding is that now Magic Rock are in their new home (the tap room bar is open Thursday-Sunday) they have a new canning line. Bottles are not likely to be seen again, maybe a special bottling of something very rare perhaps? Otherwise, it's all cans and delivery to pubs and bars.

 

[David Thomas]

I had the Cannonball the week before last, and thought it was nice, a well-made beer, but I'm rather bored of that kind of flavour...the usual American hop suspects involved (used , it seems by almost every newish, 'cool' brewery)...But yes, cans are very fashionable, and most new breweries who use them are clearly aiming at younger consumers...I bought the can from a beer shop within a Brewdog bar, where they had lots and lots of cans with strange designs...I really enjoyed Anchor Liberty Ale in a can, I thought that was fantastic. I wonder if that was a one-off (40th anniversary).

 

[Ian Robinson]

There's no doubt that technology has taken canning up to a new level. The days of beers tasting of aluminum appear to be long gone and that's because the lining in cans is a water-based polymer that doesn't interact with the beer. The lining actually prevents the beer from ever touching the metal in the can.

There's also the fact that cans don't allow in UV light, which is one of the main reasons a bottled beer can have that "skunky" off-putting flavour.

It's also near impossible for oxygen to get into a beer can, which goes a long way to preserving the flavour. Bottled beers, if kept long enough, run the risk of the cap seals slowly leaking oxygen into its contents over time. That said, Sierra Nevada (amongst others) has invested into what we might call "top grade" cap sealants, although to be honest, I've never noticed this problem with any of my bottled beers.

Probably the best support for canned beer comes from Jim Koch at The Boston Brewing Co. (Samuel Adams) who once swore he would "never" can his beers and has since done a complete U-Turn on that comment and has begun canning certain Samuel Adams beers.

For me though, it's down to good old-fashioned aesthetics. A bottled beer will always get my vote over a canned beer because in my mind, beers are meant to be bottled and a bottled beer looks a million times more pleasing to the eye. Whether I drink a canned or bottled beer, it's always going to be poured into a glass, but given the choice, my loyalty remains with the bottle, unless it's a can-only option.

 

[Ian Robinson]

Here's another thought - are we going to be seeing "can-conditioned" beer? Right now, the canning phenomenon is designed to keep fresh beers, well...fresh. But down the road, the thought of a canned Fuller's Vintage Ale is positively mind-boggling!