E-Malt.com News article: USA, MA: Wachusett Brewing Co. to offer its beer in cans and canning services to other companies

There was a time when the refined beer drinker would not think of sipping from an aluminum can. But now beer fans are accepting — even demanding — canned beer, prompting Wachusett Brewing Co. to invest in a canning line that will add a new dimension to its 18-year-old business, Telegram.com reported on April, 8.

The Central Massachusetts brewery is preparing to offer its best-selling Blueberry Ale and popular Green Monsta IPA in cans, starting next month.

Wachusett will continue selling its beers in 12-ounce and 22-ounce bottles, but the addition of cans allows the company to sell its products where it previously couldn’t — at golf courses, for instance.

“This is the only place in Massachusetts where you can see a canning line in a brewery,” said Ned LaFortune, president and founder of Wachusett Brewing, during a recent tour of the facility.

The company is spending more than $1 mln to install the canning line and make other upgrades. It’s a big investment, and one made after careful consideration about what craft beer lovers really want.

“There was really a stigma against cans, and other brewers have spoken against it, but it was only because, typically, big flavorful beer wasn’t available in cans,” Mr. LaFortune said.

Beers that come in cans tend to be of the lighter variety, sold by the country’s biggest brewers. Those are very different from Wachusett’s Green Monsta IPA, a hop-heavy unfiltered brew.

“The first time you crack open a can of beer that has tremendous flavor, it’s a totally different experience,” Mr. LaFortune said.

Wachusett will become one of about 150 craft brewers in the United States to offer beer in cans, putting it in a small but growing minority, according to the Brewers Association.

“Everybody from the biggest craft brewers to the smallest are getting into canning,” said Paul Gatza, director of the Boulder, Col.-based association. “It just allows for more occasions for their beer-drinking customers to drink the beer.”

Harpoon Brewery, based in Boston, started canning its IPA and summer beer two years ago; the canning is done out of state. The Boston Beer Company Inc., which makes the Samuel Adams brand, is rumored to be considering canning.

But Wachusett is going a step further than most breweries that can beer — it is offering contract canning services to other New England breweries.

The beer would be hauled by truck to Westminster, where Wachusett would pour and seal it into cans. Mr. LaFortune said several local brewers are interested, though no canning agreements have been announced yet.

Starting next year, Wachusett will also have the capacity to brew beer for other companies that want to sell their product in cans.

Wachusett’s canning services appeal to other local brewers because most of those brewers wouldn’t be able to afford their own purchase of a canning line, according to Mr. LaFortune.

The line installed at Wachusett is not new. It was used to package soda in Bermuda, but it has great capacity. The machines can fill 800 cans a minute. For now, Wachusett is running the line at half that speed.

Mr. LaFortune said beer drinkers won’t find a taste difference between beer that comes from a can and beer that comes from a bottle. If anything, the cans’ tight seal keeps beer better protected from air and light, which can affect flavor.

After initial costs are paid off, cans have the potential to be more profitable than bottles, partly because they’re easier to fit onto pallets and ship. Customers will pay the same price for Wachusett’s cans and bottles.

The privately held brewing company, which has a staff of about 32, boosted revenue 16 percent last year to $5.6 million. It sold 331,000 cases of beer, or about 745,000 gallons.

Ninety-two percent of Wachusett’s sales are in Massachusetts, and the rest are in other Northeast states. Another first for the brewery this year: It will sell its beer in New Hampshire.

Brewery managers have had to get creative with space at their cramped Westminster location, building machines vertically and making use of all corners. The company has one warehouse in Fitchburg, and is looking to purchase another warehouse to support its new canned products. It has also purchased new tractor-trailers.

All the growth at the brewery has Mr. LaFortune feeling like it’s 1994 again, when he, Kevin Buckler and Peter Quinn started the company. But this time, they can approach the risks with more confidence.

“We’re really becoming a destination,” Mr. LaFortune said.


11 April, 2012