Australian Hotel and Brewery - Beer in Cans

The Australian Hotel and Brewery have come to terms with ALH and Woolies liquor to stock their soon to be released canned beers. Based on the Red Bull can shape, the cans feel quite small in the hand but are actually 355ml - meaning they hold slightly more than most bottled craft beers (330ml) and will be sold in 16 packs.

I cannot bring you pictures of the artwork for the cans, but you will soon see them on another on line beer reporting blog.  I can say; if you check out the logos on the taps when you buy your next Steam Ale you will get a fairly good idea as to what they will look like.

Talking with Neal Cameron (head brewer) as to why cans and not bottles?  Turns out there are many good reasons.

Firstly, canned craft beer is making big inroads in the US markets "with more than 200 craft brewers  canning 600 different beers this year, Craftcans.com says. And last year, nearly 53 percent of beer consumed in the U.S. was served in an aluminium can, according to the Beer Institute. " (Consumer Nation 29 Aug  2012).

There is a large niche market here for canned craft beer, and no-one else in Australia is offering it.

Then; there is a growing export market for Australian craft beer in China and Japan. Cans ship with less risk and cost than glass.

Now add this: according to Neal it's cheaper to set up a canning line than a bottling line.  Sweet.

So all that's left to say is good luck,  and we will be keeping an eye out for the cans in the next few months.