Thursday, May 25, 2006
Where are you, Jackie Chan?
The purpose of this blog is to disseminate real information about the burgeoning business of canning American microbrewed beers. We want people to know the facts about beer in cans because, frankly, beer in cans has always been looked down upon--as a lowbrow product for the blue collar worker. This is really only because no good beer and no premium beer was ever available in cans until very recently. But now, buying a premium craft beer in a can is possible and, we think, the best possible package.
Recently, on the Brookston Beer Blog, a comment was posted to beer writer Jay Brooks' first story about 21st Amendment canning their beer. The comment was by a reader anonymously hiding behind the handle "Jackie Chan". Here's what Jackie had to say about the 21st Amendment and our canning plans:
While Jackie Chan is misinformed and ignorant of the facts regarding today's small canning systems, his commentary does give rise to an opportunity to discuss the facts and set the record straight.
Our two-head canning system is indeed manual and it does require labor. However, the terms "labor intensive" and "slow" are thoroughly relative ones -- two people operating our canning line can produce 20 cases per hour of finished beer. That would be 150 cases of beer canned in an eight hour day. No bottling equipment we have used could come close to this volume and no system that could go any faster than this small canning system would fit into our tiny brewery. On the Brookston site, there is a video of the entire process and most viewers would agree it is surprisingly quick.
Regarding air levels, Jackie Chan's comment, "The air-levels will not come close to that of a real canner (or even a good bottler)" is just plain completely wrong. The equipment manufacturer, Cask Brewing of Alberta, Canada, sent beer samples to the independent Siebel Laboratories in Chicago for testing. To quote the report's summary of their findings:
For the complete test results, go to
http://www.microcanning.com/cbs/files/02%20analysis.PDF
Our two-head filler uses a long tube fill, done under a CO2 blanket. This means that a CO2 tube reaches to the bottom of the can, filling it with CO2 gas just prior to fill. As CO2 is heavier than air, it forces all the air in the can up and out the opening. This evacuates all the air in the can, the can is filled at 30 degrees Fahrenheit to limit foaming, and then capped on foam so that there is little or no air under the seal. Most commercial can fillers are short tube DUMP fillers. There should be virtually no dissolved air pickup using long tube fillers. Dump fillers need elaborate evacuation methods, nitrogen drips etc to achieve airs as low as long tube versions. The equipment manufacturer has tested big canner beer packaged by one of the largest beer producers. Cans came in at over 3 ml air. They had a very large canning system. Big size and automation does not necessarily mean low airs.
And finally, regarding consistency, microbial contamination and carbonation levels. We brew the same Watermelon Wheat Beer and IPA for canning that we have been brewing for six years. Our process is sanitary from start to finish and we are confident that the beers will have a microbially stable shelf life. Our bright beer tanks are tested using a Zahm & Nagel CO2 tester and internal carbonation levels are adjusted to exactly where we want them prior to canning. The beer runs from the bright tank through a special glycol chiller and directly into the filler to ensure 30 degree Fahrenheit filling which eliminates foaming and guarantees our dissolved CO2 levels remain intact.
Jackie Chan's final comments, "In a nutshell, these cans will have terrible shelf-stability and it will probably be a crapshoot every time you crack one open. A real canner is great for beer? but this ain?t that." again, are simply ignorant of the facts. Twenty five small breweries across America and dozens in Canada have been canning beer with these small canning lines for years. If there were significant quality and consistency issues, these breweries would have long ago abandoned the can. On the contrary, canned beers are wining gold medals in blind taste tests everywhere. I'm not just talking about beer competitions (Caldera, Ashland, OR) but also about taste tests done in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.
The time for good beer in cans has arrived and we intend to be a leader in both the canning field and the battle against canning misinformation.
Recently, on the Brookston Beer Blog, a comment was posted to beer writer Jay Brooks' first story about 21st Amendment canning their beer. The comment was by a reader anonymously hiding behind the handle "Jackie Chan". Here's what Jackie had to say about the 21st Amendment and our canning plans:
Unfortunately, they [21st Amendment] are not canning the beer with a real
canning line; they have an extremely labor-intensive, slow 2-can filler and
separate seamer requiring them to physically handle every can and move them
around before they are seamed. The air-levels will not come close to that of a
real canner (or even a good bottler), there are substantial microbio issues as
the system is slow and not sealed, and there will likely be massive variance in
carbonation (and probably taste as a result of all the factors I have listed).
In a nutshell, these cans will have terrible shelf-stability and it will
probably be a crapshoot every time you crack one open.
A real canner is great for beer… but this ain’t that.
While Jackie Chan is misinformed and ignorant of the facts regarding today's small canning systems, his commentary does give rise to an opportunity to discuss the facts and set the record straight.
Our two-head canning system is indeed manual and it does require labor. However, the terms "labor intensive" and "slow" are thoroughly relative ones -- two people operating our canning line can produce 20 cases per hour of finished beer. That would be 150 cases of beer canned in an eight hour day. No bottling equipment we have used could come close to this volume and no system that could go any faster than this small canning system would fit into our tiny brewery. On the Brookston site, there is a video of the entire process and most viewers would agree it is surprisingly quick.
Regarding air levels, Jackie Chan's comment, "The air-levels will not come close to that of a real canner (or even a good bottler)" is just plain completely wrong. The equipment manufacturer, Cask Brewing of Alberta, Canada, sent beer samples to the independent Siebel Laboratories in Chicago for testing. To quote the report's summary of their findings:
"Four cans and bottles of the same beer were randomly chosen and sent toThe final comment from Technical Director Dennis Bryant sums it up:
Siebel Laboratories in Chicago. Siebel test results revealed that there was no
significant difference in O2 level between the bottled and canned product.
Furthermore, the O2 levels were extremely low, measuring at under 0.125 PPM."
"The result reported less than 1.0% of saturation"..."We do feel that this is an
extremely low level of dissolved oxygen"
For the complete test results, go to
http://www.microcanning.com/cbs/files/02%20analysis.PDF
Our two-head filler uses a long tube fill, done under a CO2 blanket. This means that a CO2 tube reaches to the bottom of the can, filling it with CO2 gas just prior to fill. As CO2 is heavier than air, it forces all the air in the can up and out the opening. This evacuates all the air in the can, the can is filled at 30 degrees Fahrenheit to limit foaming, and then capped on foam so that there is little or no air under the seal. Most commercial can fillers are short tube DUMP fillers. There should be virtually no dissolved air pickup using long tube fillers. Dump fillers need elaborate evacuation methods, nitrogen drips etc to achieve airs as low as long tube versions. The equipment manufacturer has tested big canner beer packaged by one of the largest beer producers. Cans came in at over 3 ml air. They had a very large canning system. Big size and automation does not necessarily mean low airs.
And finally, regarding consistency, microbial contamination and carbonation levels. We brew the same Watermelon Wheat Beer and IPA for canning that we have been brewing for six years. Our process is sanitary from start to finish and we are confident that the beers will have a microbially stable shelf life. Our bright beer tanks are tested using a Zahm & Nagel CO2 tester and internal carbonation levels are adjusted to exactly where we want them prior to canning. The beer runs from the bright tank through a special glycol chiller and directly into the filler to ensure 30 degree Fahrenheit filling which eliminates foaming and guarantees our dissolved CO2 levels remain intact.
Jackie Chan's final comments, "In a nutshell, these cans will have terrible shelf-stability and it will probably be a crapshoot every time you crack one open. A real canner is great for beer? but this ain?t that." again, are simply ignorant of the facts. Twenty five small breweries across America and dozens in Canada have been canning beer with these small canning lines for years. If there were significant quality and consistency issues, these breweries would have long ago abandoned the can. On the contrary, canned beers are wining gold medals in blind taste tests everywhere. I'm not just talking about beer competitions (Caldera, Ashland, OR) but also about taste tests done in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.
The time for good beer in cans has arrived and we intend to be a leader in both the canning field and the battle against canning misinformation.
Comments:
<< Home
Hi, I hope you are right about cans, I've just bought one of these systems from CASK, we will be the first Microbrewery in New Zealand to can beer, ours is the only beer they serve in heaven cheers.
Post a Comment
<< Home
