Ha, not AB. MCizz, I homebrewed for a couple years before getting a job in a production brewery about five years ago. Its a great job, and I'm still learning things every day. Its obviously something I'm passionate about, but in the end its still just beer. If someone really just doesn't like corn in their beer, that's their preference and it doesn't affect me or my enjoyment of what I like at all. Its fun to talk about beer stuff and swap opinions and educate each other, but if someone else has a different viewpoint I'm not going to get too wrapped up in arguing about technical details or definitions. I'm happy enough that that kind of talk can even happen, something that was pretty much unthinkable in the beer monoculture the US used to be in.

had this tonight out in LA. very solid, imo

Had some of black raven's barleywine today, which was outstanding. Apparently they are going to let it sit for a year before selling it. First time at the brewery, place was pretty cool, the brewers loved talking about their beer. Also had three of their barrel aged beers straight from the barrel. It was interesting tasting them right from the source.

had this for the first time last night. had never heard of it before. highly recommend it. more of an IPA than an American Pale Ale

i really wish the market was more accepting of craft brews in cans like this

Ska only does cans as far as I know. I think they're pretty cool but just bc it's different.

Well, tell us why we should then. I'll admit to just being ignorant in my assumption that the can colors the taste, and I've seen at least 3-4 good breweries that can their beer, but I can't seem to bring myself to spend $12 on a 6-pack of cans (esp when the brewery doesn't give a break on the cans).

try it? there are lots of amazing beers in cans. Pour it into a glass if you want.

im saying it would be nicer if people were more accepting of good beer in cans, or at least would try them. they're much more environmentally friendly in a lot of ways assuming they're being recycled. im assuming they also keep the flavor of the beer better but that's just a guess.

its interesting to wonder why they dont give you a break on the cans price though. im curious what the reasons are behind this strategy.

Canning is pretty expensive for a lot of micro brewers.

more expensive than bottling? i always figured it was more of a quality display issue

very cool, i'll probably have some questions for you at some point then. i just started my first all grain batch about a week ago going on what I've learned from "how to brew" and basically what i've picked up around the brewing community.

Canning machinery is more expensive up front from what I understand and then cans are only cheaper when you buy in orders of like 500k or something ridiculous. This limits what non macro breweries can do. The new canning tech that is out is supposed to be awesome though. They coat the inside of the cans with something that doesn't lend out the metallic flavors people associate with aluminum cans. They also minimize oxygen exposure which can keep beer tasting better longer, and obviously they are more convenient to take around with you at certain times.

The Port Mongo IPA was fantastic. Great beer. Will have to look out for that

San Miguel

Generally pour it into a glass anyway (besides, I wasn't talking about the taste drinking it from the can), but one of your definitions for words "lots" or "amazing" is off.

Summer- Leinie's Summer Shandy
Winter- Santa's Magic (from a local micro-brewery)
With Steak- Amstel light
With Japanese- Kiran Ichiban
Everyday go to domestic- Miller Lite
If I only want 1 or 2 and want something sweet- Leinies Berry Weiss
Favorite ever- Raz Wheat Ale from local micro-brewery

I'm a simple man.

Cans are a better package for the beer. Impervious to light. Its basically a miniature keg. Depending on the equipment being compared, cans may seal better than bottles simply because its easier to see a can that didn't seam properly than a bottle that didn't crown properly, and therefore improperly seamed cans are less likely to make it into your house than improperly crowned bottles. Cans are a better package for the environment. Lighter to ship, store, move around, and I assume more commonly and easily recyclable.

Definitely more expensive. One very basic reason is that canning operations for small breweries are a relatively new thing, so there's not much used equipment on the market. Not only does that mean you're buying new instead of used, but there are less spare parts floating around to fix things when they break. Another is that a brewer has to buy basically a 53' container of cans for each brand they want to can. Its a ****load of cans, so now the business has cash tied up in inventory just sitting, waiting to be used, not to mention needing a ton of space just to store it. I think I heard something about suppliers starting up that will run cans in smaller runs, but I'm not sure about that. I know that as of about two years ago, an entire 53' of cans at a time per brand was the only way to go.

Not from the Indy area, are you?

Also, Sierra Pale just showed up here in cans, and someone told me that they were going to do Torpedo in 16oz cans, although I haven't seen those yet.

Yeah, as mentioned above, RIGHT NOW, canning beer is more expensive for microbrewers. Maybe that changes as technology improves, or perhaps companies start offering canning (not sure how that would work, just an idea), but mayber we start seeing it more. However, consumer opinions could prevent brewers from doing it, I guess. Just pour it in a glass ffs.

Based on pokrtbobos post, he's definitely from indy. Curious which brewery the Santa's magic is from.

Bell's in finally starting to can. Words can't express how happy this makes me.

IMPORTANT FYI (thats why i used caps):

Nugget Nectar should be in most good liquor stores early this week. Keep your eyes open for this beer.

If you haven't had it before buy a six pack or a few bombers. If you have had it, you are probably already aware of it arriving this week.

If the Raz-wheat he's referring to is Oaken Barrel's, a guy I work with now is the one that came up with that recipe when he was head brewer there years back.

Consumer bias against canned beer was another big reason we didn't go with a canning line.

EDIT: Even more specifically, traditional bias of can=crap, and new-age bias of BPA boogie man.