The Sam Adams Can

Didnt notice much of a difference either but Im not an expert like some of you guys. I had the Octoberfest in the can and in a glass and it was better in a tall glass over the can and mug.

 

Beside the "litter law" problem (which apparently Sly Fox and their can mfg. either didn't realize or ignored - unfortunate, since two neighboring states in SF's small distro area, NJ and NY, have those laws), Boston Beer Co. found consumer resistance to that design, as noted in this Boston Globe article:

Note that Sly Fox cans come from Crown and BBC went with the largest manufacturer of beer cans, Ball.

re: the litter laws that outlawed "detachable" beverage can opening devices back in the old "pop top" era.

I saw a Sly Fox rep quoted calling them "outdated", and thought, "Uh - people don't litter today? I sure still see a lot of bottles, cans, crowns, cigarette butts, etc..."

 

I drink Sly Fox beers often and that can design is cool but only good if you are pouring straight into a glass or having very little range of motion after it is opened, as they can spill easily (of course a solution is to take a quick drink once it is opened).

I haven't tried the SA cans yet but looking forward to doing so, and hoping they can more of their beers.

 

I would of liked if sam adams did the 360 lid on the cans like slyfox that turns the can into a drinking cup

 

No doubt. Being an unhappy child was how I got into beer too.

I like cans as opposed to bottles for various reasons (chiefly environmental), but I have a hard time drinking a good beer from a can rather than from a glass. I did so a few times over the course of a recent bunch of Heady Topper, and it was great, but I still like to see a good beer and stick my nose in the glass.

By contrast, I'd never think to pour a Schlitz or a Pabst rather than drinking it from the can or bottle.

 

I love it.

 

I agree with the unquoted part of SF statement 100%. Apparently, these laws don't apply to food containers--beans, soups, tuna, sardines, etc.--or Ensure or pet food (not sure if those two are separate. So why beer?

There are three returnable cans of Busch lying in the bushes kitty corner from my house (left over from some teenager binge). They've been there for two months and one of them rolled onto the pavement in the meantime and got flattened. I left them there as an experiment to see if anyone else gives a shit (usually, I dispose of such things). Plastic bottles are also everywhere, but o cigarette butts around here--limited to solid blue-collar areas only in the Northeast (but all over the place in the Midwest/Lakes).

 

I assume it's because people didn't then, and still don't, normally eat tuna, sardines, beans or soup (or feed their dogs) on the beach, in the park, in state and national forests, while fishing, etc. For a contemporary reference, see:

--- Buffet, J. Margaritaville, verse 4: "...I blew out my flip-flop, Stepped on a pop-top..." ​

​

Perhaps I'm jumping to conclusions, but I never thought it was from a can of Campbell's Chicken Noodle...

 

The 3-oz zip-top tuna cans (and pouches too, but that's another story) are specifically made to be portable, picnicable items. Some manufacturers sell them paired with crackers. Beans and soups generally have to be heated up, but otherwise made to be convenience food, so you can throw an open can on a portable grill, with consequences being the same as having a beer on the same outing. Times change... bad laws don't.

 

people take beans and other canned food for camping all the time

 

Yeah, well, AFAIR those weren't around when the Pop Top Scourge was at its height, and those laws were passed.

I recall the factory I worked in after school had this canned food machine in the breakroom that spit out HOT [pre-microwave days] cans of soup and other convenience foods -the corned beef hash being the most beloved by us high school guys, and often sold out , eaten by the day shift's full-timers - that had an attached wall-mounted can opener on it. A hot can would come down out the little door after inserting your 35-65¢, and you'd have to quickly and gingerly grab it and remove the lid the ol' fashioned way, by cranking the handle...​

So, the laws were passed to eliminate the biggest offenders, I guess. One could make similar complaints today about the lack of a nickel deposit on Hellman's Mayonnaise jars or Hormel Spam cans (or even plastic water bottles? Not sure, since I haven't lives in a mandatory deposit state in decades).

I guess all Sly Fox has to do is have Crown talk MillerCoors and/or Anheuser Busch into using their 360 lid, and let their lobbyists go to work repealing those state laws.

But were those cans around in the early 70s, when those laws were passed? Maybe - I sure don't remember - but I do know I always had both a traditional can opener and my Swiss Army knife in my VW bus for opening cans, but I was cheap and maybe avoided the "E-Z opening" beans? (Grandma Brown was my brand, anyway, I don't think Grandma uses those cans even today, 40 years later).

I guess write your state representative...

 

Canned SA tastes different, idk what anyone says. I just tried the Boston lager for the first time and it seems way hoppier than the bottles or draft. Odd but true

 

Bought the Oktoberfest in the can. Wasn't as good as I remembered in the bottle. But then again, I don't drink SA very often.

 

didnt happen, cans are better than bottles..... if you dont agree you are wrong

 

false, can is better for certain styles. fact, SA octobfest is better in bottles than cans

 

yeah man, loved them as well. the beer seemed to flow w/ no resistance down the gullet.......super nice.

 

What exactly is this law?

 

I will chime in when they reach the West. Not holding my breath though.