The Eccentricities Of Craft Beer
You got your Cans, Bottles and Draft Selections!
You are in your local Craft Beer shop… strolling down the lanes of all the beer out there on the market. What do you gravitate to? Why? Do you really know every single brewery that has a can/bottle available at this place? I really want to take a whack at analyzing this… let's explore the eccentricities of Craft Beer.
LABELS
What draws the eye to a brew? Is it the artwork? Is it the simplicity of the label? Is it a sharp looking label? Is there a subtle elegance to it? These are just a few questions that pop up when thinking about this category. I think we have to start with the old adage… that Art is in the eye of the beholder. Personal choice and personal opinion is number one. I guess this is really where marketing comes into play here. Doing some research on your target audience and then making decisions from there. OR… you could do the opposite and just know what you really want to put out into the world and say damn the consequences. I think there are great advantages either way… but I do have to say… personally… I think I’m attracted to a label that seems to know what it is and might be a tad bit bizarre. That’s just me though.
CANS VS GLASS
Oh man oh man. We are getting spicy here. This has been a war that has waged all my life. I don’t think the war has a winner and I don’t think it ever will. There are benefits to both sides that are absolutely true and this is why we will always see a mix of both in the Craft Beer scene. Waaaay back in the day, I can remember experiencing and hearing about the taste of metal or tin in the beer itself if you drank it from a can. The reasons for that tinny flavor can be numerous but most would say it's because of high iron in the water or something went wrong in the brewing process itself. Thankfully… that has not been an issue for a long time for me and I think for Craft Beer in general due to advances in nearly every area of the industry.
If we really want to get down to the brass tacks… the can is clearly a perfect vessel to protect beer from any light. Light notoriously loves to get into beer and then oxidizes it. That creates the Skunk. We don’t like the Skunk! You get out of here… you Skunky Beer! That is just Science. So… points to cans for keeping beer fresher… longer.
It has been an interesting thing to see in the marketplace… the slow change from all bottles to a great deal of cans. The old myth that cans were bad has seemingly gone away and now we are marching towards fresher beer for all.
CRAFT BEER VESSELS
As cans have really taken hold in the Craft Beer scene… we have seen many different sizes of them. You have your stovepipes(19.2 oz), tallboys(16 oz) and your regular 12 oz cans. The change up in sizes also changes the quantity of cans… duh. Stovepipes are individual, tallboys can be individual or part of a four pack and 12 oz cans can be individual or part of a usual six pack.
Bottles have a good deal of variation that honestly comes around to them just being the mainstay the longest. Glass bottles can have a multitude of different shapes, glass colors and sealing mechanisms. Glass bottles in six packs versus a corked special edition are just a couple examples of the variations in this department. We also can look at glass color through the lens of SCIENCE because as we all hopefully learned back in school… the darker the color of glass means less light will get into it. And we don’t want that Skunk… do we? Brown is most generally the glass color of choice for most bottles out there on the market due to this fact.
One thing that I will say that bottles have an advantage over cans is… corks. Who doesn’t like to pop a cork? There’s a small thrill to it and I’m just going to give a small point to bottles due to this fact. And wax… wax can add an extra dimension to a bottle through looks and also help preserve the beer for longer!
DRAFT VS CAN/BOTTLE POURS
Yes… you might already know the answer to this one but I have to address it. Draft is ABSOLUTELY the best way to drink beer. The ability to control carbonation and also the fact that kegs are just a great way to preserve beer in their prime - these are just a few reasons why Draft is the best way to drink beer. You also have Nitro draft lines which adds a whole new dimension to certain kinds of beers. That creaminess is just delightful! I would hope that everyone reading this has been to an actual brewery… because tasting beer that is directly from the source is literally the best way to have beer. Absolutely and utterly.
The only advantage that bottles have over Draft is longevity. Kegs can only keep beer fresh for so long. But… if you take a look at certain kinds of beers… like Lambics? These glass bottled beers can last decades if properly cellared. So… even though we have this example… I will have to say that Draft wins this category.
CONCLUSION
There are many eccentric qualities to Craft Beer and I know I didn’t touch on all of them but I do hope that I was able to break down some of the nitty gritty of this fabulous industry. Drink Fresh. Drink Local.
