Crooked Stave considers itself lucky. Lucky, in a year when small businesses have experienced plenty of misfortune. The Colorado craft brewer is utilizing cans, once slated to be destroyed, to stay viable amid a crushing aluminum can shortage. Fans of the brewery may notice new labels covering previously branded cans as early as September, 2020. The move follows other breweries forced to repurpose existing can stock as a shortage affects thousands of small brewers.
“2020 has presented many challenges,” said Crooked Stave Director of Operations Jauton Burke-Gupta. “We’re in a position to overcome this one with a little luck and ingenuity.”
At the beginning of September, Crooked Stave experienced the effects of the can shortage, discovering that 16- and 12-ounce orders of brite cans would not be available until November from their supplier. Brite cans are unprinted cans, free of decoration for a specific brand. Crooked Stave fills brite cans with limited release beers and attaches adhesive labels by hand or labeler. Without the ability to replenish brite can inventory, Crooked Stave would quickly run out of the popular packaging formats.
Small brewers, like Crooked Stave, rely heavily on aluminum cans to bring their product to market. Cans have become even more crucial to small brewers as the global Covid-19 pandemic has severely limited on-premise draft beer sales. Beer makers have looked to packaged beer, like cans and bottles, to pick up the slack. Small brewers are at a disadvantage when accessing materials like cans due to scale and have borne the brunt of the shortage.
“Without cans, it would be impossible to package nearly a dozen limited release beer offerings,” said Crooked Stave’s Danny Oberle. “Right now, if we can’t sell beer in cans, we really can’t operate. Like so many breweries, we’re in a bind.”
Fortunately, the brewery had a significant amount of printed cans from beers that had been put on hold. The cans had been scheduled to be destroyed, but remained in storage. The repurposed cans will allow Crooked Stave to avoid delaying upcoming beer releases. The cans will be covered with new labels.
A Kiwi IPA label covering an old can is how Crooked Stave is addressing an aluminum can shortage.
“It was by sheer luck that the cans were still available to us,” said Oberle, “We are now optimistic we can make it through November. Hopefully cans will be available by then.”
Crooked Stave plans to reschedule some planned beers and look to the open market to proactively address a prolonged aluminum shortage.
The next time you visit Crooked Stave’s taprooms located in Denver and Fort Collins or pick up a six-pack of Crooked Stave beers take a closer look at the packaging. The beer you purchase might be available thanks to a little luck in what has been a year that could sorely use more.
About Crooked Stave
Founded in 2010, Crooked Stave is a modern, artisan brewery with a quality-driven focus. The brewery strives to blend science and art through creativity and following our passion. Located in Denver’s Sunnyside neighborhood, Crooked Stave is recognized throughout the world for complex and creative wild and sour, barrel-aged beers and a variety of traditional and innovative ales and lagers of all kinds. Crooked Stave invites beer-lovers to visit the Crooked Stave tap rooms located at the brewery, as well as in Fort Collins at The Exchange, and seek out Crooked Stave beer offerings wherever sold. http://www.crookedstave.com/
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Terry Bunch
