More and more Flemish beer drinkers are drinking their favourite brew out of a can rather than a bottle. Canning beer is advantageous for some types of beer. For example, many beer drinkers say that pils beer out of a can often tastes better than out of a bottle. However, this is not the case for types of beer that undergo secondary fermentation after bottling.
Earlier this week in VRT Radio 1 current affairs programme ‘De Wereld Vandaag’ beer sommelier Sofie Vanrafelghem spoke of the evolution that has seen more and more of us switching from bottled to canned beer.
"The image of canned beer has been improving for some time now. 10 years ago, people had the image of a can of Cara Pils (discount beer from Colruyt) lying discarded in the street in the Overpoort area of in Ghent. For many, cans were associated with people living on the margins of society”.
"Over the past last 10 years, this image has started changing thanks to the small breweries. Their cans are real works of art. Creativity is not only in the taste, but also on the can."
Difference in taste?
In addition to attractive packaging Sofie Vanrafelghem says there are other reasons why people are choosing to drink canned beer. "It's much easier to take a can with you to the park or to the beach,"
"The biggest advantage of canned beer is its impact on the taste. Cans, unlike glass bottlers, don’t let light through. This better protects the beer from the influence of sunlight."
"This is because it is ultraviolet light that breaks down the iso-alpha acid in the hops into unpleasant compounds. If you expose strongly hopped beers to too much light, the beer becomes undrinkable."
Not every beer can be canned
Canning beer has many advantages for lagers, light coloured beers and strongly hopped beers such as IPA. However, some other beers undergo secondary fermentation in the bottle, which makes it difficult to can.
"In a can you don't have secondary fermentation. There are a number of beers in Belgium that owe their flavor type to that process of re-fermentation. Part of the character of the beer is co-shaped by that".
"Duvel’s decision to now produce cans of its Duvel 6.66% beer is a very logical choice. The classic Duvel, on the other hand, will never be sold in cans. This is because to its reliance of a long maturation and refermentation process in the bottle. That's just not possible on cans."