Way back in mid-2021, in the dim and distant days before we had the taproom, we announced that the launch of our first lager would herald a switch to packaging all our beers in cans instead of bottles.
To be honest, that first lager wasn’t so much of a winner (unlike our current mega-popular brew). And the move to cans wasn’t a howling success either. For the traditionalists, a bottle has a certain cachet (as well as a bit more beer in it) and the demand was still there.
But 2025 is the year of change. We are shifting our packaging process and CLB will only be available in aluminium cans from early summer. The debate rages on about whether cans or bottles are better for storing beer. However, we think the sustainability argument is more clear-cut and wins the day.
The production process for cans is less energy intensive, they’re lightweight, they’re not made from fossil fuels, and they contribute less to environmental issues like acid rain and ocean oxygen depletion.
Aluminium can be recycled endlessly and making a can from recycled materials uses only 5% of the energy required to make a new one. What’s more, the process of recycling a can uses 90% less energy than recycling a glass bottle.
The other compelling factor is the whizzy new canning machine we acquired at the end of last year. We were fortunate enough to secure a grant for it from the Rural England Prosperity Fund, which will also help fund our new solar panels being installed shortly (more news on that soon).
The machine took some getting used to, but now it’s working like a dream and is an absolute game-changer. We can package the beers around 20 times faster than our manual bottling process. It’s a great piece of kit.
We’re still far more 'hands on' than the brewing behemoths, but we’re convinced this is the right way to go. We hope you agree!
