Samuel Adams recently announced that for the first time it plans to offer Samuel Adams Boston Lager in cans. The new can design, the product of two years of ergonomic and sensory research and testing, aims to provide a drinking experience that is closer to the taste and comfort of drinking beer from a glass. The “Sam Can” will hit shelves in early summer 2013, just in time for warm weather sporting events, boating trips and beach days.
“The debate over bottles versus cans has been a sticking point for brewers in the craft beer community for years,” said Jim Koch, founder of Samuel Adams. “In the past, I had my doubts about putting Sam Adams in a can, because I wasn’t convinced that Boston Lager would taste as good as it does from a bottle. But cans have changed, and I believe we’ve designed a can that provides a slight but noticeably better drinking experience than the standard beer can.”
Koch and the other brewers at Samuel Adams first worked with can manufacturer Ball Corporation to better understand can design, as well as how to package premium beer in cans. The brewers then worked with a design team at IDEO, a recognized global design firm to create their own unique packaging. Finally, Samuel Adams enlisted the help of sensory expert, Roy Desrochers of GEI Consultants and a recognized beer flavor expert for the Master Brewer’s Association of the Americas. With Desrochers’ help, Koch studied every aspect of the new can, from how it could potentially impact the flavor of Samuel Adam’s flagship Boston Lager to the ergonomics of how the beer flows from the can and hits the taste receptors on the drinker’s tongue.
“I worked with Jim and the other brewers at Sam Adams on an ergonomic and flavor study to understand the benefits of the new can,” said Desrochers. “The flared lip and wider top of the new Sam Can work in concert to deliver the beer in a way that makes the flavor closer to drinking out of a glass. Although subtle, this can delivers a more pronounced, more balanced flavor experience, something that was very important to the brewers. The extended lip of the can also creates a smoother, more comfortable overall drinking experience.”
The difference in drinking out of the new can as compared to a standard can will be modest, but drinkers should notice enhanced flavors and a more comfortable experience. The position of the can opening and wider lid naturally opens up the mouth allowing for more air flow. In addition, it positions the drinker’s nose closer to the hop aromas of the beer. Drinkers will also notice that the extended, curved lip of the can delivered the beer to the front of the palate to maximize the early enjoyment of the malt sweetness.
Packaging beer in cans provides consumers with a number of advantages. Drinkers prefer cans in certain circumstances where bottles are often not allowed or are not convenient, such as beaches, parks, pools, sporting events, boats and airplanes. Samuel Adams Boston Lager in cans will be available in 12-packs nationwide, beginning in early summer, for a suggested retail price of $14.99 to $17.99. For more information, visit www.samueladams.com.
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