Cans - will you pay a premium?

But @ceeg already posted: "I work at a bottle shop and know that Firestone cans are cheaper by the case than the bottles."

Cheers!

 

wow nice - bottles here are like $17.99...cans about the same

 

Beer distibuters and retailers have discretion over what prices they charge. I think it's more likely a few shop owners think they can pinch a couple extra bucks from the can craze. If this pricing originated at the brewery it would be a more widespread phenomenon.

 

just depends on how much of a difference.....if we are talking less than a buck then yes....

 

I also think that what may not have been considered in some of the observational datasets is that the price point set by the retailers for (e.g. six-pack 12oz cans vice the six-pack 12oz bottles) is that there's a 'case buy' not reflected.

If the cans are a new format to that label or brand through the wholesale distributor, the "Case 1" price of the cans (and maybe up through 5 and 10 cases of the same brand*) is probably a higher price than it is for the equivalent number of cases of bottles of the same brand -- the price point at retail will reflect this difference.

*Generally, a "mix and match" price for brands/labels from a brewery, 25 to 30 cases and up, can bring the price point for each brand own, and this would include the price of available labels/brands in cans. This is true for Summit Brewing in Minnesota, whose line has come out in cans in recent years. Cans are the same price as bottles at most retailers that buy more than e.g. 25 or 30 (50 mix and match, usually) cases at a time.

 

Short answer, no. Long answer, no.

 

If someone is pricing cans higher than bottles (especially for IPAs) than this screams to me that the brewery is saying "We recognize that there is a degree of freshness, i.e., quality that is enhanced by canning. In order to truly enjoy our product at it's freshest state, we will enforce a premium since we can't figure out how to make our bottles sell within a freshness window." Sounds like something airlines would do. You know, charge extra for something that apparently we take for granted....like a fresh beer....a window or aisle seat....

If the distro or bottle shop is selling cans at a premium, than that's just an unfortunate little incident of taking advantage of consumer trends. We are all giddy over cans right now, so perhaps they are taking advantage of it. How would you know? Probably have to go to a few different shops. Can't imagine TW would spot raise can prices, so they may be the price point comparison.

If there's a premium on cans, seek out fresh bottles or fresh offerings from another brewery. Just my $.02.....

 

as some have mentioned, the cost of the actual canning machinery can be adding to the price, they are pushing that on to consumers.

We asked New Holland on the tour if they would be doing canning. their response was (paraphrased) :

"At this time no. we already have the entire bottling line, and although the canning machines would take up significant less floor space, we already can bottle. Also, we buy bottles as blanks, and then label as needed. Where as with cans we would need to order, ship, and store already printed cans. We would need more warehouse space to keep the overstock of cans waiting to be filled. But with bottles we can fill anything into the blanks and put the label on."

I thought that was a very informative and smart answer / business plan for a smaller brewery.

Now I just came back from a work trip with 19 bottles, 13 cans, and 2 bombers in my bag (pelican case) and I would have been VERY happy if that was more cans. It was heavy as hell.

I did a comparison with oberon recently, since it is a super common things here to have both cans (4) and bottles (6 or 12) available all summer long.
4x 16oz cans, $7.99, $.125 per oz
12x 12oz bottles, 13.99, $.194 per oz

Close in price, and I bought the bottles. I would rather spend $14 than $16 that particular time. And If you are planning on sharing. 12 bottles goes farther than 8 cans.

 

I would if I were bringing the beers to a place that I didn't want to bring glass (like if I were humping a cooler of them through the woods to go camping). Other than such rarities, I wouldn't pay more.

 

I'm fairly agnostic on what container my beer comes in - which means if cans cost more, I'll go for bottles every time. The fact that cans should be cheaper all around as far as materials, manufacture, and shipping are concerned doesn't help their case any.

Throw in that cans have a much higher tendency than bottles to have little beer eruptions that waste part of the contents, and that they're more annoying to pour into a glass without getting 4 inches of foam, and I don't see any upside worth paying extra for. Maybe I'm a rarity around these parts, but if I'm going to some sort of event that doesn't allow glass and where I'm not going to pour my beer, I'm likely already looking at one or more 30-packs of Genny Cream Ale at $0.50 a can or less. That includes backpacking short distances for a day or two (although I'm far more likely to haul along flasks of bourbon for that).

 

While cans are superior (IMO), I wouldn't pay a premium for them.

 

Bought a 6er of California Lager in can with no freshness date on box. Bought it only because it was caned. Got home and the can code said May 2014 one yr old. I drink a lot of CL and can tell you it was fine, not bad for one year because of can I think.

 

What?

 

I'm hoping that Victory starts canning Dirtwolf sometime soon. Hopefully without the distributors and retail shops gouging the prices

The Victory Display at my local Weiss Market sits right in the eastern exposed, untinted front window, and I have usually gotten damaged (stale tasting) ales.

 

No premium, unless the beer INSIDE the can is worth the expenditure.

 

I don't mind paying a little more for cans as long as it isn't too outrageous.

 

No, but for IPAs I might pay a slight premium if the cans were significantly (2-3+ weeks) than the bottles.

 

I think he's right... mainly the flavor effects of putting your mouth on metal. If all else was equal and pouring the beer into a class/cup not an option, then I would prefer bottles to cans.

 

I probably wouldn't pay much more for them, but if we're talking a couple cents on the dollar, sure. Given that they're better for beer, I think it's worth it for me. I rarely finish a 6 pack (or even 4 pack) in a week, so whatever protects the beer best is in my best interests.

 

I've been making soda, tea, and beer cans 41 years in September. From 8, 10, 12, 16, to 24 and the new 25oz. I prefer bottles. I can't speak for bottles, but aluminum cans are sold to the filler for twice and some pennies of the cost to make them. The raw aluminum is the biggest cost.