Alley Kat Brewing Company announces to switch to aluminium cans from bottles

On Tuesday, March 10, Alley Kat Brewing Company announced that it decided to switch to aluminium cans after packaging exclusively in bottles since 1995. According to the report, the company will switch to cans this spring, based on the market demand.

Neil Herbst said, “We’ve been watching the market closely for years and the trend from bottles to cans shows no sign of slowing down.”

Herbst said the brewery had been looking into cans since 2018.

The company cited data from Statistics Canada that indicates the declining trend of the sale of packaged domestic bottled beer in Alberta over the past few years. Data shows 24.5 per cent of beer was sold in bottles, while 75.5 per cent in cans. In 2018, the former figure came down to 15 per cent and further down to 12.6 per cent in 2019.

“Cans are perfect for all kinds of summer activities, whether it’s golfing, camping, or outdoor festivals,” new owner Cameron French said.

He added, “Plus, the can design allows us to provide the consumer with tons of information about the beer they’re drinking, along with a few other fun surprises.”

Alley Kat’s staple offerings are Aprikat Apricot Ale, Main Squeeze Grapefruit Ale, Scona Gold Kölsch, Buena Vista Brown Ale, Full Moon Pale Ale, and Fish Bone New England IPA.

In the middle of March, the cans, designed by Edmonton firm Vision Creative, will first hit the shelves, starting with Alley Kat’s latest Double IPA from Dragon series. The rest of the lineup will gradually roll out throughout March and April.

Alley Kat’s Back Alley Brew series and Dragon IIPA series will be available as four-packs of 473 ml cans.

“As a brewery, we remain focused on environmentally friendly business practices and that was at the heart of every decision made throughout this process,” Alley Kat’s other new owner, Zane Christensen, said.

He added, “For example, we’ve chosen can liners that are BPA-free and we’re using WaveGrip carriers that are fully recyclable, photodegradable, and use 75 per cent less plastic than conventional craft carriers. We also want to remind people that cans are recyclable. In fact, aluminium is the most recyclable of all materials and can be recycled indefinitely.”

As per the report, the brewery has already replaced its bottling line with canning line.