Reinventing the Beer Can

The proper glass for the proper beer is a popular topic of conversation among craft beer fans, as well as a frequent topic on these Musings. Just a couple of weeks ago, I told you about a new glass sais to be designed specifically for drinking IPAs. Not to be content with their popular Sam Adams-specific glass, the folks at Boston Beer claim to have perfected a new beer can style specifically for their beers. From The Boston Globe:

The project’s code name — Bunker Hill — hinted at the formidable challenge Boston Beer Co. faced: could the craft brewery that revolutionized American beer put its Sam Adams lager in a can without sacrificing the taste millions of consumers expect with every sip? The journey to build a better can took the Bunker Hill team to a plastic coffee lid collector in New York, a museum of beer cans in a Taunton basement, and tailgating parties at Gillette Stadium. The two-year effort cost more than $1 million, including the hiring of a renowned design firm and professional beer consultants, as well as the purchase of expensive canning equipment. Now, Boston Beer founder Jim Koch is finally ready to release his precious Boston lager in a patent-pending can he claims is superior to the regular metal vessel most people drink from.

The article goes on to describe the newly designed can that Koch and his team came up with. The changes included altering the slope of the curves near the top of the can, the size of the lid, the shape of the lip, and the placement of the opening. Koch claims the new design allows the flavor of the beer to  come through and make the experience as close to drinking from a glass as possible.

The new can is said to enhance the flavor the brewery's signature beer, Boston Lager. That leads me to wonder if we'll be seeing beer style specific cans promoted in the future.

See "Sam Adams founder’s quest for the perfect can" for more information and pictures of the new can. (Subscription may be required.)