Beer Friday: Porkslap Pale Ale; Other Good Canned Beers

Last night my downstairs neighbor returned from (expensive, overated) Bierkraft with a backpack full of Porkslap Pale Ale, a totally drinkable beer in a can. Now I only had a few sips of one last night (I’m saving my can for a special day), but it brought to mind something that I think might be a growing trend: Small breweries putting their product in cans.

I’ve long been a fan of Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale and Old Chub Scotch Ale, both distributed in cans. (And available, Park Slopers, at Brooklyn’s best kept beer secret, Eagle Provisions.)

Oskar Blues explains why they chose cans instead of bottles:

The modern-day aluminum can and its lid are lined with a water-based coating, so the beer and the can never touch. Cans, we discovered, are actually good for beer. Cans keep beer especially fresh by fully protecting it from light and oxygen. Our cans also hold extremely low amounts of dissolved oxygen, so our beer stays especially fresh for longer. Cans are also easier to recycle and less fuel-consuming to ship.

My neighbor definitely would have had more trouble biking home with a backpack full of bottles, that’s for sure.

So is there a trend here? Are there any other craft brewers distributing in cans besides Butternuts and Oskar Blues?

Image courtesy of A Good Beer Blog.