Archive for the ‘Beer’ Category
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Ginger Johnson of Women Enjoying Beer (https://womenenjoyingbeer.com)
This article is the inaugural piece on a planned Series of 10 partnering with World Class Beer.
#1 Busting Myths on Women & Beer
What kinds of myths have you heard related to beer? Try these on for size:
- “Light” beer won’t make you drunk.
- Women only like fruity or sweet beers.
- Beer is a man’s drink.
Perish the thought(s) and bust those myths with us, as we launch our World Class Women series, written by Ginger Johnson, founder of Women Enjoying Beer to share, enlighten and educate female and male consumers about the universal beverage of beer.
Click here to read more at Women Enjoying Beer…
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Cans? Really? You want me to drink beer out of a can? Seriously? Like my dad? No Way!
Way!
There is a nice little discussion going on in the beer world right now. To can or not to can, that is the question. Can craft beer come in a can? The answer: HELL YES it can!
Amongst craft brewers today, there is a nice little trend to offer their tasty brews in cans as well as the bottle. Why? Well, until recently if you wanted to go camping, to the beach, on a bike ride, go to the park, whatever, you were limited to macro brews and nothing too fancy and full of flavor. Now that has all changed!
First, some history. The beer can was invented in the late 1920′s, and for that matter ALL can beverages began here…with beer! Cans began with a cone top that was sealed with the same crown used to cap bottles. Eventually they became plain flat or “punch tops” in the 30′s which lead way to the zip top that even us thirty somethings remember prior to the conventional tabs we see today.Little trivia tidbit: ACCO (American Can Company) first explored the idea of canning at the request of Olympia Brewing Company founder of Leopold Schmidt early as 1909, but the can technology wasn’t sufficient enough to stand up to pasteurization. Oh well…
So, even though beer has been canned since the 1920′s why did it take until about 80 years later for someone to can a craft beer? Who knows?! Whatever the case, in 2002 Oskar Blues Brewery bucked the system and canned their flagship Dale’s Pale Ale and started a whole new avenue for craft breweries. The one thing that Oskar Blues understood was that the stigma of a “metal” taste when your beer came from a can was all in peoples heads. In fact, if you were unaware almost all cans contain a coating or liner on the inside that prevents the liquid from ever actually touching anything metal. Feel free to blind taste test someone and have them try to find any “off-flavors”.
It’s all in peoples heads. By the way…what are kegs made of? Anyway…So not only does a can not impart any unwanted flavors into our favorite beverage, it also protects it from the two worst enemies of beer: oxygen and light! When a can is sealed, it’s sealed! There is no worry of additional oxygen seeping in, which is possible with normal crowns on bottles. Now some breweries worry about the surface area on a can being larger and that allowing more oxygen to find it’s way in during the filling process… well, not to worry! This has an AWESOME solution! Can-conditioning! Yes! The same idea behind bottle conditioning (an additional fermentation in the final package to create natural carbonation) is being used to rid the can of any extra O2 in the package!
Now I will tell you this 100% of the time…My favorite Fat Tire is from the can! They can-condition and it adds this wonderful extra layer of complexity to an already dynamic beer! Try one, they are amazing!Now as for light…do I really have to explain this? OK, short version. Obviously the aluminum from the can is not transparent, duh. Well, that cannot be said about glass. Why is this important? The harmful UV’s from sunlight and florescent light that cause the skunky aroma in beers cannot get in to harm canned beer. Ever tried Heineken from a bottle side-by-side with a Heineken from the can? You should! Hell, I’ll do it with you!
So…by now I think you get my point, can beer is good beer. You might be willing to go as far as to say that it is SUPERIOR beer! It can go any where, it weighs less, it’s compact, it gets colder faster, they are fun to collect, they protect the beer better… the list goes on and on!So next time you see something in a can…guess what! It’s just as good, if not better than the bottle!If you were wondering, JJ Taylor Craft Breweries that carry beer in cans include: August Schell’s, Breckenridge Brewery, Brooklyn Brewery, Leinenkugel’s, Magic Hat Brewery, New Belgium Brewing Company, Shiner Beers, and Sprecher Brewery.
Joe FalkowskiCertified CiceroneImport/Specialty Brands Sales Rep
