USA, CO: Aspen Brewing Co. canned beer to be available this week

Aspen Brewing Co. cans will hit liquor store shelves, as the local upstart eyes statewide growth, Aspen Daily News reported on April, 12.

The 4-year-old brewery’s blonde variety is the first to be canned, followed later this spring by the IPA, said brewery co-owner Brad Veltman. The cans will be carried in about 20 liquor stores between Aspen and Glenwood Springs.

Canning, which has been a part of the business plan for years, will take up about 75 percent of the brewery’s product, Veltman said, adding that there will still be enough beer to keep local bars that carry it on draught stocked. Expect to pay about $9.50 for a six-pack, he said.

Canning has a number of advantages for the brewery, Veltman said. Being lighter and cheaper to transport than kegs, cans will make it easier for the brewery to grow its market share, he said. While the spring and summer will be focused on saturating the Roaring Fork Valley, by the fall the goal is to be in the Denver/Boulder market, he said.

A few weeks ago, a semi-truck full of 200,000 empty cans arrived in Aspen. The rest of the canning equipment came this week.

Liquor stores have smaller mark-ups than bars, so Veltman said it’s been a learning experience dealing with the new aspect of the retail business. But in general, he said there’s enthusiasm in the market for the cans.

“It’s such a positive thing to walk into a potential new account and have people say ‘yes’ right away,” Veltman said.

13 April, 2012