Arbor becomes latest brewery to swap glass bottles for cans

US brewery Arbor has become the latest in a long line of producers to switch from glass bottles to aluminium cans.

Oh yeah! If you love our one-off brews here at the brewpub, you now have a whole new way to take them to go, and wherever you go (that’s permitted by law of course). #oktobercanseaners #newcanwhodis

A post shared by Arbor Brewing Company (@arborbrewinga2) on Jan 17, 2018 at 9:41am PST

Arbor, which has outposts in Michigan, USA, and Bangalore, India, announced it would swap out glass bottles for more sustainable aluminium cans last month, reports Crain’s.

The new canned beers are set to hit shelves in the US later this month.

The roughly 350ml cans come with a new logo which highlight the independent brewer’s 22 years in the market.

“The switch to cans gives you a larger canvas of art to work with,” managing partner Mike Messink said adding that “a big reason” for dropping glass in favour of aluminium was more about quality than sustainability.

“A can is a better vessel for beer because there is no light and less oxygen. Light and oxygen are two factors that can contribute to shelf life.”

“The reaction we’ve gotten from customers and retailers on the packaging has been fantastic,” Messink said. “That facelift and rebranding is going to go a long way in terms of increasing production and growth over the next couple of years.

Arbor Brewing will continue to bottle its sour series in 500 ml bottles.

Arbor is the latest in a string of independent brewers to drop glass bottles as sustainable practices become increasingly important to the craft beer sector.

Between January and August 2017 there was a 327% rise in the number of canned craft beers sold in the UK’s off-trade sector, according to the latest figures from consumer research firm Nielsen.

Cans now make up a quarter of the UK’s craft beer sold in supermarkets and off-licenses.