Monday Rant (On a Tuesday): Cans on the Floor

I'm not here to complain about any aspect of beer cans nor am I going to brag about the ways in which they've simplified things for those of us in the beer world. With that said, I still have an important tip for those of you that love supporting local beer distributors as I do.

For those of us that drive at least a few miles we most likely need to pack the beer into a vehicle and bring it back to where our residence might be.Now, with the parameters of the scenario in place, I shall begin.

My father is in Florida for two weeks. That leaves me with two vehicles here to alternate with. I chose to take his do do my errands on Sunday. Yes, I include beer shopping as a sort of errand. I bought my two cases, one of which was cans. Four six packs sitting in a box lid.

I slid both of those suckers (with the kind help of the distributor's owner) in the back seat. Note that I didn't put them in the trunk or on the floor. Being arrogant and brash, I figured I'd get them home safe and with minimal problems.

What I didn't take into account is the difference between my father's car and my old 1998 Lumina and how they handle. I have to hit the brake pedal a bit harder in the Lumina than I do in the other one. When I switch frequently I either push the pedal too hard or not enough, given the two vehicles capabilities.

I ran into one of those yellow-to-red situations at a light and firmly hit the brakes. Due to the pedal's sensitivity the car jerked and before I could complete my thought of "Oh, the cans could slide" I heard the fizzing and saw a little bit of foam shoot towards the front of the car and on to the windshield.

I guess one could say that over confidence is my weakness. A lesson for everyone. Take heed. Put the cans on the floor when transporting. Go to the 7:45 mark if you're a nerd like me.

 

Monday Rant: Frozen Pumpkins?

Into the stockpile it goes.

Somehow we all knew it was going to happen. After all, our favorite seasonal brews seem to appear earlier and earlier each year. I'm just going to warn you now that this is going to be the paragraph of callbacks. I certainly know I've harped for almost two years about the seasonals hitting shelves on an earlier basis. I recall writing something proposing some kind of craft beer paradox in which seasonal beers end up coming out so early that the release dates are months out of season (i.e. fall beers being released in the spring).

In that very post, I linked to a report of Penn Brewery planning on releasing one of the first pumpkin beers this summer. The month of the release? July. Well the week has come and gone. Amidst one of the hottest heat waves of the 2013 calendar year, Pumpkin Roll Ale has hit the shelves of our beer distributors.

I honestly don't know where a brewery can get pumpkins to have a pumpkin ale come out this early. Did they have a surplus of them last year and freeze the pumpkin meat? That's the only feasible thing I can come up with in my rage.

I told myself all week long that this past weekend was the one in which I wouldn't drink or buy any more beer. As if I didn't need more anyways. In great fear of this pumpkin beer being stripped from the shelves with ultra beer geek speed, I caved and got myself a case on Saturday. Oh, how shameful it is.

I wasn't thrilled at the thought of beers in a can. Slowly, but surely I've grown on that. Canned beer is easily stackable and takes up less room in a fridge. I think we're close to having all of us getting used to beer out of season. Maybe even to the point where we demand these beers year-round instead of this absurdity. One thing we are close to is a certainty. We now have pumpkin beer in July. Which brewer dares to be the first to do it in June? The clock is ticking.

When Will Rivertowne Delivereth the Cans?

I've been talking on and off about local breweries beginning to can their beers and distribute them. It's been quite a while since I've ran the subject through my mind. That's when a Twitter follower mentioned me in a tweet saying something about  Rivertowne Monroeville cans possibly being out this week.

@burghbeersnob RT cans coming this wk!
— Josh Brikis (@JBrikis) January 9, 2013

Other than that, a quick internet search doesn't find much else on the issue. As far as I've noticed, no Rivertowne cans are in nearby distributors. At least not the few stores I've been in recently.

I'm not the world's biggest fan of beer from cans, but I'll quickly get over it if a world of more variety is unlocked for me. I've only come across bottles of Babbling Blonde, RT Lager and Old Wylie's IPA from the Rivertowne selection.

If you take a look at the Our Brews page on the brewery's website you'll notice the images of a few others that Rivertowne brews. The best part is that they're depicted in cans! I'd love the opportunity to stack a few cans of Hala Kahiki in my fridge.

Monday Rant: Beer Cans - Good or Bad?

An interesting poster I came across at Beer of Tomorrow brings up an intriguing point that many beer drinkers have been debating for years and perhaps will for the rest of eternity: canned beer.

From what I can gather there are people that hate having beer out of a can and there are also people that think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. I think that the ball falls on both sides of the fence in this argument.

As you can see in the poster, having your beer in a can is almost like having it in a mini-keg as it can keep it colder easier. In my book this isn't always the best option. It depends on the beer you're drinking. I feel that a good bit of beers don't need to be really cold to be enjoyed at their fullest.

I agree with he energy-saving aspects brought up in the poster as cans are infinitely recyclable as well as the fact that your beer is less likely to become skunked in a can rather than being in a lighter-colored bottle

Where the argument goes south in my mind is the fact that I've had some beers out of a can taste totally different than it does on tap or out of the bottle, whichever is better depending on your preferences. This is something I've referred to as my "Yuengling Theory" which proposes that the beer tastes magnificently out of the bottle, but isn't the same from cans or on draft. I named it as such because Yuengling was the first beer I noticed this with.

Regardless of what I think, I don't think that you're wrong if you're on either side of the fence. This issue is something that will be deeply rooted in our own personal preferences of how we drink our beer. Just don't come to me and tell me how awesome you think the new Miller Lite punch-top can is. Yes, I had to remind myself how to breath after watching this commercial, too.