Craft beer boom induces fear of aluminium can crunch among microbrewers

America has experienced a huge craft beer boom over the past decade. Currently, craft beer represents 10% of the American beer market with a rapidly increasing trend. The Brewers Association, of America has set a target of 20% market share for craft beer by 2020. But, the growth is also inducing another worry among the microbrewers- that of an aluminium can shortage and a consequent aluminium war.

A microbrewery can make considerable profits only by packaging its beer in cans and selling it for outside consumption. Otherwise, only selling inside the brewery limits their business prospects. Beer packaging market is predominantly determined by cans. In 2006 only, cans accounted for 48.3% of the beer packaging market and bottles accounted for 41.9%.

The craft beer boom would definitely induce an aluminium can boom as well. Aluminium cans work better than glass bottles for a number of factors:

Recyclability
Convenience of use
High portability


But the growth in can packaging for craft beer may have another huge consequence: a shortage of aluminium cans, fear a number of mid-size microbrewers.

According to Josh Stylman, co-founder and managing partner at Brooklyn-based microbrewery Threes Brewing, “Big companies like Budweiser have their own resources and factories so they can run the table on aluminium cans. Even if we had our own canning line, we would have a hard time getting cans.”

Canning lines, which take beer from vats and put it into cans, are an expensive option for microbrewers. And even if they have their own canning line, it wouldn’t be able to run it for lack of  aluminium cans for everyone in the beer market. Big beer companies like AB-InBev buy the major quantity of cans in the market leaving little for small players.

So, the only option for the microbreweries is to outsource the can packaging part from another company. Canning line businesses demand huge focus and resources just for sourcing cans. If the aluminium can crunch gets worse, the breweries may turn to bottle which will not be good either for the consumers or for the aluminium market.  Considering all points canning line services remain to be the only hope for microbreweries caught in this potential aluminium warfare.

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