Alternative Packaging
By Mark Ewald, aka Shep
As many of you may or may not know, the can shortage is upon us. Shep has been hearing for a few months now that an impending can shortage is coming, but it hasn’t shown its ugly head for VT Beer Shepherd until this week. We were notified this week of some can allocation cuts happening for some of our local brands. We have also heard this from some of our West Coast brands.
For example, Boneyard started producing cans when COVID hit (as they were previously a draft only brewery). They literally had no way to sell any beer until they could package. They bought a canning line and started producing cans, but guess what, since they are new to the canning game they have severely limited access to cans and this is why we don’t have any for sale in VT.
On Shep’s call with Silver Moon months ago, their nervousness was palpable. Last week they were breathing a little easier as they have secured cans from a manufacturer that produces cans in Hawaii for Maui Brewing. They will have to make modifications to their canning line to accommodate these new cans. It is a crazy time in the Covid beer world.
I have started to notice some new ways of packaging and many of them are truly innovative. Ellison Brewing has started packaging single serve adult juice boxes for their cocktails to go. Check out these little sexies!
This got Shep to thinking about other alternative packaging for beer and beverages in general. The industry first saw plastic kegs come on the scene about 7-10 years ago. Cans for craft beer exploded when Oscar Blues became the first craft brewer to actually can beer! Then Crowlers! Cans became the thing and still are!
So now, with the imminent can shortage, what are the other options? Obviously bottles could certainly be a thing again, but bottles have all their additional challenges. What will be the next innovation?
Many of you know that we sell some awesome Spanish wine that comes in a Bag-in-Box. It is a mylar bag that holds the equivalent of 4 bottles of wine. This Bag-in-Box is great for so many reasons. Firstly, it is a great deal less packaging than the alternative four glass bottles. Another great benefit is that the wine doesn’t oxidize the same as a bottle would, and lastly you can take these boxes anywhere! This format is also great for any on premise location that only sells a limited amount of wine. These BiB allow you to use the same box of wine for sale indefinitely, without any oxidation to the wine, eliminating the need to pour partial, gone-by bottles down the drain.
And go figure that the purist in Belgium came up with their own version of a Bag In a Box, except for beer! Of course the Belgians!!! Oud Beersel has started producing real lambics that are packaged in a Bag-in-Box! This way on-premise locations can sell glass pours without opening a bottle and the home consumer is provided the same freedoms. An individual can “tap” the Bag-in-Box in their fridge and pour only the amount that they want to drink or serve without having to commit to a whole bottle. Boom what a concept!
We have a limited amount of the awesome beer in a box in stock. Just what this holiday called for. We all need to do tap hits of spontaneous fermented beer in 2020!
This is truly innovative and I can’t wait to see what the next innovation in packaging will be!