Do beer stores hate cans?

Not an owner myself, but I see some of the shops around struggling with what to do with cans in the singles section. For them, if a couple bottles come out of a six pack onto the singles shelf, it's no biggie to consolidate a couple half-full sixers back into a whole one. Really can't snap cans back into a four or six pack. Seen a few places with "please do not break apart cans" signs.
Although a local grocery store chain does have cans as a part of their mix six selection, so it's not everyone.

 

I wonder if the owner's issue is the stigma with cans that still lingers for some people.

What I don't always get is why a brewery has several different formats available ie 12oz and 16oz cans along with 12oz and 22oz bottles. I understand some beers for varying reasons would lend themselves to bottles but it just seems cumbersome to have to package in so many different ways.

 

I care more about what is inside the container than the vessel it is delivered to me in. Cans do have their place and bottles are OK too, but I don't drink my beer directly out of either so its all the same to me. They can ship it inside those cardboard boxes like wine if they want and if its good beer I will buy it and drink it.

 

Breaking News: Old, white man feels threatened by change. More at eleven.

For real though, did he have any talking points other than "that's the way we've always done it"?

 

I worked on a packaging line for a year. None of this surprises me. A spit can is a hell of a lot easier to clean up than a broken bottle. I prefer cuts from cans over glass as well.

 

Ten Fidy ages so well in a can I defy you to try to age one and see how long they last too! Cans are light and I am going to pour my beer into a glass anyway.

 

Ooooh...I would have been pissed. I'm the most adamantly outspoken advocate of cans that I know.

 

Instead of wanting to defend cans, I would have been more annoyed by the comment that European brewers do not put great brews in cans.

 

Cans might be better for the beer, easier to store, etc. etc., but they are less elegant. I'll buy both and I hope both continue to be available. I feel the same way with wine; screw tops are convenient and more reliable, but there is something about the act of removing a cork that you just don't get from a screw top.

 

Also, as a Bruery lover and loyalist, as well as most big beers from other breweries, I prefer bottles because most of what I drink comes in a 750mL size. I have also had canned beer taste metallic, and while a lot of that is in my head, I sometimes can't get past a canned beer if there's any aroma that shouldn't belong, whether it's the can or not.

 

I think the tide has shifted. Cans are superior in every way except one...drinking from a bottle beats drinking from a can. I haven't really tested the special Sam Adams cans in this regard, but it's otherwise true. It's why Bud Light is so often sold in aluminum bottle shaped containers that make no sense otherwise.

But since craft beer, especially good craft beer, is seldom consumed from the container, cans are better.

 

I have to revise my earlier opinion. Pouring from a can isn't any more difficult.

 

Anyone who complains about can from a quality standpoint doesn't know what they are talking about. Shelf space is definitely an issue though.

 

For the styles I like ipas, pales, ales and pilsners cans just flat out taste better, no contest. If I have my choice of a beer of those styles it's a can every time. Darks are better in a bottle to me.....

 

This is not a storage or merchandising thing. The problem is that customers have their beliefs and, as in politics, it's very difficult to change someone's beliefs, even when you present them with facts that contradict those beliefs. I've seen lots of people refuse to buy cans because they won't acknowledge the relative advantages of cans, just like they won't buy a cold beer for fear that it will be ruined if it gets to room temp and is the re-chilled.
It wasn't that long ago on the pages of these very forums that there were knock-down drag-outs about the pros and cons of cans (which, for all I know/care, still occur today).

 

Cans are great, except for the fact that the breweries refuse to settle on a standard size. Perhaps this is one of the things the store owner in the OP hates. For example, if you choose to stock Oskar Blues idiotic 19.whatever oz cans, it forces you to move a whole shelf down, thus losing a facing. OB is clearly the industry leader is having too damn many sizes. Personally, I find 12oz cans just right, but can live with 16oz'ers. Sixpoint is almost as bad with their energy drink cans. C'mon brewers, pick a size and standardize!

 

Store worker here. I personally love cans, but find it frustrating trying to convince people that cans are a good option for their beer purchases. Another thing I find irksome is putting them on a floor display. Stacking 5 cases only comes up to my shins, so it's much better to find a shelf display them. That said, Founders 15 packs of All Day IPA is one of our best sellers.

 

Good luck with that. Brewers use package size and style as part of their merchandizing.

Here in MN, Surly has a big part of their merchandizing attached to the pint can. I suspect the same is true of OB's use of the "idiotic 19.whatever oz cans" since that is actually an Imperial (or Royal) pint can. Doesn't make it less idiotic, but it is part of their merchandizing. For certain beers, the bomber, especially the waxed bomber, is part of the merchandizing.

We have beer available in this country in 11.2 oz (330ml) bottles and cans, 12 oz bottles and cans, 16 oz cans, 19.2 oz (1 Imperial pint) cans, 22 oz bottles, and 750 ml bottles, packaged as singles, 4 packs, 6 packs, 12 packs (and larger).

I don't know of any that use ALL of those choices, but I know of plenty who use 4 or more of them, sometimes for the same beer. It's got to drive retail set planners over the edge.