From a consumer standpoint, craft beer in a can is easier to stack and store, travels well, and is accepted in many locations — like swimming areas and festivals — where bottled beverages are prohibited. From a distribution standpoint, tap space can be a limited commodity, and many brewers are forced to deal with steep competition to get, and keep, their kegs in local bars and taprooms. Brewers fighting to maintain their market share know that eventually they will have to get their product into cans to appeal to the greater audience.
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A can filler needs to preserve the quality, taste, and shelf life of your beer while maintaining sufficient yields. It is well known that beer in cans has a longer shelf life due to the lack of sunlight exposure, but what about the shelf life your product sustains from the technological capabilities during the canning process itself? How can the lack of technology jeopardize your product?
One of the most significant technological differences in can filling that craft brewers face is open air can filling versus Isobaric or Counter Pressure Gravity filling technology.
Open air filling causes one big problem – unwanted foam. Foaming during the can filling process is not the same as fobbing during bottle filling. With a larger opening than the mere 26mm bottle top, cans running through an open air can filler allow the exposed product to exhaust exponentially greater amounts of CO2. The escaping CO2 in turn increases the levels of oxidation to the beer causing vast variations in flavor, carbonation, and shelf life.
Counter Pressure Gravity filling or Isobaric filling technology, when used for filling beer into cans, does not create foam during the filling process. Isobaric or Counter Pressure Gravity filling maintains the head space in the can required to sustain optimal product integrity and shelf life. Filling at 30-50psi upholds the requisite carbonation saturation pressure in the beer, unlike the open air fillers. During Counter Pressure Gravity or Isobaric filling, the can is positively sealed to the filling valve which allows a complete CO2 purge of the air & oxygen in the can, thus helping to reduce Dissolved Oxygen (DO) pickup during the filling process.
Higher filling speeds are achievable with Counter Pressure Gravity fillers, allowing a much less time-consuming canning process.
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Emily Gong
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