Oregon Public Broadcasting

Saturday, a Northeast Portland pub is hosting a beer celebration, called the “Cans Festival.” As the name suggests, there’s no need for a bottle opener. Rob Manning has more on the attempts of can fans to get beer drinkers to put down their bottles.

A friend of mine likes to say there are two kinds of beer: good and better.

Rob Manning / OPB

But the assumption has long been that the "better" beer comes in a bottle.

Megan Flynn publishes Beer West magazine.

"There is still a stigma associated with beer in cans," she said.

"Much like when wine bottles started using the screw-top, it sort of took the romanticism out of the wine, even though the screw-top is better, technically, for the wine. It’s the same thing with the can," Flynn explains

But some brewers and consumers are challenging that stigma.

Flynn is sitting at The Guild Public House in Portland, with the pub’s owner, Jesse Cornett. They have about a dozen cans in front of them.

"I’ve never had a Belgian in a can." Cornett says.

Cornett says over the last ten years or so, canned beers have multiplied among craft brewers.

Rob Manning / OPB

Jesse Cornett, Guild Public House owner.

"As of this week, there are 131 craft brewers nationwide that are either canning, or in the late stages of canning. Yeah, it’s a trend, I would say the biggest trend in craft-brewing right now," he added.

Cornett and Flynn are talking to Chris Nemlowill. He owns Fort George Brewing, the latest Oregon microbrew to come in cans.

Nemlowill says a brewery based in Astoria going to cans is a natural move, given the town’s longtime connection to canning.

He says beer drinkers should prefer cans, too.

"What I’ve found is if people really like draft beer – they’re really going to like beer out of cans. Because when you’re drinking draft beer – well, your beer on draft is coming out of a big can," Nemlowill said.

Nemlowill says canned beer stays fresher, because the enemies of freshness – light and air – can’t penetrate the aluminum. That is, before you open it.

And pour it.

Can fans say their receptacle has other advantages. Cans are lighter.

Flynn explains, " ... which for shipping is great, and if you’re into recreational sports, outdoors, it’s great for taking camping. It’s easy to pack in, pack out. It chills quicker.” Jesse Cornett adds, "If you read the top of the Caldera can, it reads 'go skiing, fishing, go snowboarding, calderabrewing-dot-com, go biking, go rafting, go cans!'"

Chris Nemlowill with Fort George Brewing says cans are easier to recycle - especially in places like Astoria, where there’s no curbside recycling for glass.

"What’s really nice in Astoria, where we're from, you can throw your aluminum cans right in your recycling. They’re infinitely recyclable, and really light and easy to get back to a source where they can be made into other cans," Nemlowill said.

Putting beer into those cans to begin with, though, costs more. Beer West publisher Megan Flynn.

"Purchasing a canning line is much more expensive than purchasing a bottling line. And you also have to purchase cans in humungous quantities –- so that first order, kind of getting started, is a huge undertaking for breweries," Flynn said.

Fort George's Chris Nemlowill says he has to order 150,000 cans at a time. That costs a lot, and small brewers especially, may have trouble finding space to store that many cans and run a canning line.

"If you can buy one pallet of bottles, and you can print out your own labels, then you can bottle beer. If you want to can beer, you’ve got to buy a container-load of cans and a canning line, so it’s a bigger gamble. More risk, but I like to think more reward, as well," Nemlowill said.

Cans remain a relatively small part of the craft brew market. Pub owner Jesse Cornett counts 130 craft brewers going to cans – but there are more than 1700 craft brewers in the U.S.

By the way, I did call some of Oregon's big beer bottlers for their take on the can versus bottle debate. Those calls weren’t returned.

In any case, brewers don’t have to choose one or the other. Nemlowill at Fort George, bottles seasonal beers, for instance.

And while you won’t need a bottle opener for your can, connoisseurs, like pub owner, Jesse Cornett, recommend a different tool, to keep that can from warming up in your hand.

"The resurgence of the can, also means the resurgence of the koozie," explained Cornett.

For more on the environmental pros and cons of the bottle vs. can, visit our Ecotrope blog.