This may just be the renaissance of aluminum.
For years, cans were the vessel from which you imbibed the cheap stuff: PBR, Keystone and a long lineup of watered-down light lagers. They were the bedfellows of red Solo cups, meant for camping trips and shotgunning during tailgate parties.
But those days are gone, thanks not only to a few trailblazing craft brewers, but also to a nifty new barrier breaker: the Crowler™.
The lovechild of a can and a growler, the Crowler is a new way to get beer from point A to B. While craft beer drinkers have been enjoying fresh fills from taprooms for years, growlers have their disadvantages. They’re often cleaned improperly, which can affect the quality of the beer inside. They’re difficult to seal well and lose carbonation fairly quickly after being filled.
Innovative “can evangelists” Oskar Blues was the first to solve this problem, introducing the Crowler in December 2013 to thirsty patrons in its Colorado taproom. It’s a one-use, 32-oz. can that’s filled and sealed right at the bar. It’s portable and, just like its 12-oz. counterpart, it’s made from recycled aluminum.
But wait—what’s so great about aluminum? For starters, it’s skunk-proof, keeping light out of your beer better than even dark glass bottles. It’s environmentally friendly, requiring less packaging and recycling at a higher rate. It’s cheaper, it doesn’t break and it’s a convenient travel companion for hiking, camping and floating the river. Plus, you can’t bring fresh cans home from your favorite bar, which is where Crowlers pick up the slack.
Working in partnership with Ball Corporation and Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry, Oskar Blues—a brewery that has always thrived on pushing limits—developed a tabletop seamer to fill your Crowler before your eyes. After purging the can with carbon dioxide (to keep out beer-spoiling oxygen), the can is immediately filled, topped with a lid, seamed and labeled with a sticker. This can-on-demand is then yours to enjoy for about $6 to $12, depending on what beer is inside.
If you’re doing the math in your head, you’ll realize that’s a steal for specialty and barrel-aged beers that often aren’t available outside of taprooms.
So what’s the catch? Unlike drinking from a growler, the beer inside a Crowler should be consumed in a single serving, while the beer is in its prime. Some people complain about tasting metal when drinking from one, but like smaller cans, you’re better off pouring the beer into a glass anyway.
Since introducing it to the world a year ago, Oskar Blues has sold several dozen Crowler systems to brewers around the country, including Cigar City in Florida, Ska in Colorado, DryHop in Illinois, SanTan in Arizona and, most recently, The Collective Brewing Project in Texas.
With a growing group of converts and its very own Facebook page, the Crowler doesn’t seem to be losing momentum anytime soon
