Are 16oz cans the future?

Around here they seem to be the present.

4-packs of cans seem to be crowding out bottles in the craft sections of the local retailers I frequent.

I still haven't formed an opinion of whether I find this a good thing. I don't always want to drink 16 (or 20) ounces of one beer. If I have 12 ounce containers of different styles it's easier to have a couple at a sitting.

 

I would say this is correct, but I get a lot of my beer directly from breweries and tend to have more larger bottles (750ml), 12oz bottles, and cans (90% 16oz).

 

I hate 16oz cans almost as much as I hate 22oz bottles. Let's pay more money for less beer just so we can be cool.

 

i think 16 oz is the present , but the future will be 7 or 8 ounces or something like that. the beverage industry is getting caught up in the healthier lower alcohol craze, so we are back to pilsners and milds. but if you still want imperial stout or barleywine flavor isnt the answer smaller portions?

 

I see the huge move to 16 oz. cans as the present situation.

Not sure any of us can predict the future with regards to the metal markets, or the whimsical natures of consumers. But I both would like to see, and expect to see, a move in the direction of fewer beers being put into cans of any kind. I hope to see 12 oz. glass bottles re-take the marketplace, and a general move for more local beer to be consumed locally, far less beer shipped long distances.

 

Wow, I can't think that I've seen 6x16s anywhere. They're stirring the pot to be able to have a larger $ sale with each purchase transaction.

 

They're the now.

 

I've seen this claim frequently but it doesn't match what I see. When you have the same beer in 12 and 16 oz packaging options I haven't found one that has a dramatic price difference.

I suspect that what is happening is that a lot of small younger breweries charge more than large legacy breweries, and these same breweries lead the way on the 16 oz can. When legacy brewers have added 16 oz cans it hasn't been paired with the $/oz increase that we saw with bombers.

 

16oz cans are pretty much the norm in my world, both bottle shop and brewery. New Trail, however, is putting out 12, 16, and 19.2 oz. cans of a couple of their beers, and Bell’s is doing multiple formats for Hopslam and Two-Hearted. Love the variety, but I’m sure you need a lot of overhead to do multiple formats.

 

I always think it’s weird when people complain about a few cents difference per ounce between formats. This isn’t exactly an inexpensive hobby to begin with.

 

Jack’s Abbey used to do this with most beers but has recently made them all 16oz four packs.

 

Most 16 oz come in 4 packs. 64oz. 12ozers usually come in 6 packs. 72oz. Generally, the 4 packs are more expensive, and are of the trendy styles. So, you pay more for less, just for the cool factor. That extra 4oz aren't generally as enjoyable as the first 12, so you get an overall diminished experience with the beer. The few 16ozx6 packs I see around here are of the shit beers: PBR, Hamms, Old German, etc.

 

And, selling less beer per transaction (likely at a higher price) leaves you more beer to sell, thus another transaction.

 

This.

It’s smarter and draft beer tastes better than packaged beer. The downsides are, growler fills aren’t necessarily any cheaper, especially when you factor in tips, and it’s time consuming for brewery staff.

And it makes traveling more interesting.

 

Out here one brewery is well-known for 4/6/16 packaging: Eddyline out of Buena Vista CO. I think virtually everybody else uses 4 packs. This does make Eddyline's CrankYanker IPA a pretty nice value proposition. A $13 six-pack is a lot cheaper per ounce than an $11 four-pack.

 

The short answer is yes. As has been said they seem to be the “present”. Most of what I buy/have bought has been in this format anyways. No problem here and I doubt it will be one 20 years from now. I feel the same regarding bomber bottles. Cheers.