Cans vs. Bottles: Bottled Beer Still Tops among Craft Brewers but Cans Offer Advantages

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In 1981, metal cans accounted for about 53% of packaged beer, according to data from the Beer Institute. In 2013, cans accounted for 54.7% and have remained more or less stable during all that time. But canned beer is a small minority among makers of craft beer. The Brewers Association, which promotes the craft beer industry, indicates that only 10% of craft beer was packaged in cans in 2015. But these numbers hide a potential trend that the craft industry is trying push the market toward.

Analyzing the data from the Beer Institute, it can be seen that despite the fact that much of the beer from macro breweries comes in cans (such as Bud Light and Coors Light); bottled beer very nearly overtook cans as the dominant packaging method in 2010. In that year, the total difference was just over 12 million barrels, or 5.95% of total U.S. production at the time. But since then, the trend has largely gone the other way. The gulf between cans and bottles has grown to 40 million barrels in 2013, or 19.45% of total U.S. production.

Click the icon at right for a chart detailing production of canned beer and bottled beer in the U.S. from 1986 through 2013

According to the Brewers Association, canned beer offers several advantages over bottled beer, including better protection from light and a measurable increase in freshness, along with a reduction of CO2 emissions. Also, re-sealable cans are now available. While cans are still the minority among craft beer, they are the fastest growing containers, with 6-packs increasing at a rate just north of 95%.

That perceived growth should be taken with healthy skepticism since small numbers can yield impressive percentages. Additionally, Industrial Info has tracked craft brewery projects in which the producers cited the cost advantages of using canning lines over bottling lines.

Will Cans Become Cool?
However, many of those same craft brewery owners are taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to installing new canning equipment. They hope that "cans will become cool" among consumers. Nevertheless, Industrial Info is tracking over $3.05 billion in active Brewery Segment Spending across the US and Canada, many of which include new canning lines.

To be clear, this potential trend is something that the supply side of the market wants, but it could be an uphill battle to convince craft beer consumers to make the shift. By cross referencing Industrial Info's database of completed craft beer projects against the Beer Institute's data on packaging share, it can be seen that the top 10 most active U.S. states for new craft production (North Carolina, Texas, Florida, New York, Ohio, Colorado, California, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois) are the ones that consume higher percentages of bottled beer and lower percentages of canned beers. On average, these states have 52% share of cans where the national average is 54.7%, and 35.2% share in bottles relative to the 35.0% national average.

Additionally, this is bound to be a conservative estimate of the current strength of bottles versus cans among craft beer consumers since the larger macro breweries still have a higher market share and mostly sell canned beer. However, regional differences in share of packaging account for a greater amount of variance than the presence of production share of craft beer. Craft brewing is defined by the Breweries Association as those entities that produce less than 6 million barrels of beer each year and have some restrictions on inferior ingredients.

But the relative share of beer packaging varies greatly over time, and some states can be seen shifting preferences dramatically. Florida, for instance, which is home to Cigar City Brewing (Tampa), has shifted so strongly that bottles overtook cans from 2000 to 2009. In general, regions appear to play a larger role in determining can/bottle share than overall market presence of craft beer.

Click icon at right for a chart detailing production of canned beer and bottled beer in Florida from 1981 through 2013.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.