Gizmodo has an interesting article on Friday speculating that Canned Beer Is The Future of Good Beer. Like most Gizmodo articles, it’s in-your-face opinionated (especially in the comments, where it turns decidedly loopy) but makes most of the points we all know about that are advantages for canned beer.
I don’t believe cans will ever replace bottles entirely, but cans should command a greater market share as the craft segment of the industry continues to grow. Cans will continue to be place-driven and occasion-driven, at least in large part. But we don’t always spend our time camping, swimming or on the golf course so the real trick in marketing cans is to convince everyone that they’re ideal for the home, too, which is in fact often the case. But I continue to believe that as we also try to raise the perception of beer as a sophisticated beverage worthy of white-table fine dining, that bottles will continue to be seen as the superior package at least from that perspective. In the same way we all know that screw-top wine can be every bit as good as wine sealed with a cork, the perception remains tilted toward corks as an indicator of quality. I should hasten to add that I love craft beer in cans and support the idea whenever I can, I just don’t think it will ever be an all one package world, nor do I think it ever should be. Both packages are good from different points of view, and so I think most likely both will also remain viable for years to come.
