Are we really still questioning the merits of canned beer? In 2018? I guess we are, because I recently came across a comment on one of my本周啤酒columns informing me that the beer I was recommending must be total crap because it comes in a can, not a bottle. To that commenter: 2003 called and it wants its misinformed beer opinions back.
Despite much evidence to the contrary, some people continue to believe that bottles are in and of themselves a sign of beer quality. It’s a misconception left over from decades ago when premium and “imported beer” brands—remember when that was a phrase people used unironically?—tried to sell Americans on their superiority to pop-top cans. Bottled beers were priced higher than canned beer, and advertising departments worked to convince drinkers this is because bottles meant higher-quality beer. Can bad. Bottle fancy. Bottle better.
几十年来，这是不正确的。我们已经过去很久以来只有家用轻啤酒罐进入罐头。（（Dry-hopped Berliner weisse with sauvignon blanc grapesfrom a can, anyone?) Cans have a number of advantages over bottles, some of which have to do with keeping beer fresh. Let’s break them down for the naysayers:
Cans keep light out completely.
Light exposure is the enemy of fresh beer, because when light hits beer, it causes oxidation and the dreaded “skunked” flavors. Brown bottles are better at keeping light out than green or clear bottles—the green bottles are part of the reason Heineken is notorious for its skunked aroma—but cans are better than all of them. Light can’t penetrate aluminum, giving them a big advantage in terms of freshness.
罐子密封。
This aspect probably doesn’t matter much if you’re drinking beer within the first three or four months it’s packaged—the recommended shelf life for most beer—but can make a difference over a long period of time. A bottle with a cork still allows for micro amounts of oxygen to enter the bottle in a process called micro-oxidation; that’s why Belgian beers that still have residual yeast in the bottle will continue to ferment slightly and “age” in your cellar. In the case of bottle-conditioned Belgian beers, that’s a good thing, but if you want a 100 percent sealed vessel, a can is it. (The jury is still out on how much micro-oxidation occurs in a bottle with a regular beer cap. The regular beer cap is a single seal on a plastic-type material; beer cans are a double seal, theoretically giving twice the oxygen protection.)
在过去的十年中，罐头技术有所改善。
这是事实，尤其是关于它在包装中留下的氧气的数量。总包装氧（TPO）是衡量液体本身中剩下多少氧气（降解的氧气）的量度。溶解的氧气和/或TPO越高，啤酒的香气和风味就会越快。在包装方面，氧气是敌人。“这项技术在罐头方面变得如此出色，” Brewmaster的Matt Brynildson说Firestone Walker Brewing Companyin Paso Robles, California. “I think it used to be that bottles always had lower dissolved oxygen rates than cans, but now our canning lines runs right on track with our bottling line, if not ahead of it, in terms of total packaged oxygen.”
Can manufacturers are ditching BPA.
Consumers don’t want BPA in their water bottles, and they probably don’t want it in beer cans, either. Previously, BPA was used in the interior coatings of most beer cans, but now companies have come up with BPA-NI (BPA-non-intent) can liners. Many craft beer makers have since switched over, especially those in California where products packaged with BPA must carry a warning.
That metallic taste in your beer isn’t coming from cans.
Can critics swear aluminum packaging leaves a metallic taste in beer, but cans are lined (see above) and metallic tastes can be the result of problems during brewing—not packaging. If beer comes into contact with anything less than stainless steel, it can leach metallic flavors during the brewing process, which isn’t much of a problem these days, as most professional breweries use stainless steel. Water chemistry or improperly stored brewing grains could also produce off-flavors one could describe as metallic.
除了罐头的技术优点外，我倾向于选择罐装啤酒，因为它们更方便。他们轻量级；六包很容易在我的冰箱里堆放；我可以在我不想要玻璃的地方远足或在水上远足；通过我的本地回收计划，它们更容易回收。
“It’s becoming the more expected package for beer,” Brian Strumke, founder of Baltimore- and Brooklyn-basedStillwater Artisanal Ales, tells me. (His is the brewery that cans the dry-hopped Berliner weisse with sauvignon blanc grapes I mentioned earlier.) “It’s the most environmentally responsible package, I think, at the moment. It’s lighter for shipping; it’s more compact for recycling.”
So, even if you don’t trust my opinion on cans, you can’t argue that they’re not brewer-approved.
布莱尼尔森告诉我：“除非是我们只放瓶子的啤酒，否则我不会把瓶子带回家。”“如果人们能够克服有质量差异的污名 - 这是我们父母根据定价所教授的一个值得称赞的方面，这可能是没有令人信服的理由去罐子上的瓶子。”