45% OF THE BEER MARKETED IN SPAIN IS ALREADY IN CANS

45% OF THE BEER MARKETED IN SPAIN IS ALREADY IN CANS

It is surprising the great variety of commercial and craft beer cans that we can find on the shelves of any supermarket or department store in our country. Craft beer is all the rage, and consumers are increasingly demanding it in cans. The reasons are quite different, not only because of the attractive and groundbreaking design but also because of its advantages when it comes to transporting and storing it on a daily basis as well as protecting the liquid from light.

But there are always the classics who opt for the traditional and the typical question arises: does beer in a can taste like metal?

Although scientifically there are not many studies on the subject, Beverages magazine conducted an experiment on the subject during the Edinburgh Science Festival, where 151 people drank the same beer. Half were served from a can, the other half from a bottle, showing them the container. Those who drank from a bottle rated the beer best.

Subsequently, a new test was carried out, 29 of them were served two glasses, one from a bottle and the other from a can, without telling them what their origin was. The ratings in this ‘blind test’ were almost identical. The study was conclusive and revealing, the preference between one or the other “was in the head”.

Until recently, one of the criticisms of the can was that it left a metallic taste. All that is a thing of the past. “The cans have a special film to prevent the metal from coming into contact with the liquid, so there’s no flavor transfer,” says Vicky Di Pau, a beer culture educator. Another advantage is the marketing packaging. “The can has more room for design as almost its entire surface can be decorated, either with a sticker or screen-printed,” Di Pau explains.

Although both containers protect from light and heat, “technically the can is always better,” Di Pau explains. In this regard, adds Román Jove, from the Península brewery, in relation to the advantages of using metal containers in packaging, “the can is hermetically sealed and, being totally opaque, offers total protection against light. The bottle does too, but not 100%. This is why brown or green bottles are used”.

During the bottling process also “much has been improved in recent years in the canning lines so that it is the same as in the bottle,” says Di Pau who also adds that “both containers also preserve the drink from oxygen, so before closing it is removed so that it does not spoil the drink”.

Economically it is much more profitable because “you can send twice as much beer in half the space. In addition, they are lighter (they weigh less than 15 grams empty), which makes them cheaper to transport. However, although the bottle, especially in large format, is “more shareable and has a better presence in restaurants. In general catering there is still a lot of work to do with the can”, concludes León.

In 2021 “the rare thing is not to have a can”, adds León and there are few craft breweries that resist canning, especially because the investment is becoming more and more accessible. The data corroborate this assertion. The consumption of cans during the last year grew in double digits, both in Spain and in the rest of Europe. In our country, according to Cerveceros de España, 45% of the beer marketed during 2020 was in a can, 11% more than in 2019.