The year of the can?

At the recent IMDA conference there was a roundtable discussion that focused entirely on the increase in craft breweries in the US.

There are a vast number of producers out there at the moment, with many more set to enter the market in the coming months and years, and guess what? They’re starting to use cans as their receptacle of choice.

This is great news, and something that has been made possible by the advent of the mobile canning operation.

Mobile canners move around and run small batches for these artisanal brewers, and there are some very impressive cans available as a result.

Russ Phillips, founder of CraftCans.com and our own regular columnist on the topic, led the discussion, commenting: “last year I said it was the year of the can, the year before that I said it was the year of the can, this year I’m saying it’s the year of the can, and I’m sure I’ll be saying it next year too.”

The larger can makers would do well to monitor the craft beer market too, if they are not doing so already.

Imagine the scenario: a craft brewery opens out of a small outbuilding in Texas, for example. Five years later they are the next Blue Moon or Sierra Nevada, producing rivers of beer that requires a large supply of cans.

Are they going to remember that you went to see them on the day they opened their small rusty gates? My guess is that whomever was there from the can making industry from day one will be walking through the more shiny gates down the line.

It’s something to bear in mind. There are 500+ American craft breweries that are canning at least one of their beers in 49 out of the 50 states. It’s on the up and up as a sector, and is surely worth a little time and consideration as to how you as businesses approach it.

After all, today America, tomorrow the world.