TROOPER beer joins the Canned Beer Revolution!!
TROOPER – a Premium British Beer created by Iron Maiden and handcrafted by Robinsons Brewery – is joining the ‘Canned Beer Revolution’ in the USA and launching its own 500ml ‘Tall Boy’ can for the very first time in January 2015.
Robinsons, family brewers of Stockport, have been all bottled up, but now they’re canning it. That’s right, news has emerged from the 176 year old brewery that the first order of TROOPER beer is currently in production and come the New Year 300,000 cans of TROOPER will be setting sail for the US beer market.
Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson explains the advantages of cans: “Well, firstly cans are easier to recycle, require less packaging, get colder quicker and take up less space in your fridge! Secondly, cans don’t break or smash, meaning they can be taken to venues—sporting events, campgrounds, beaches, and music festivals —where glass is not typically allowed. Thirdly, aluminium cans are excellent protection against light and oxygen — beer’s biggest enemies, soyour drink tastes fresher longer. Done right, they’re great for our beer.”
Craft and imported beer takes a large chunk of the US beer market and have been growing year-on-year for the past decade. According to Peter Love, owner of one of the US’s most successful canning companies, Cask, sales of craft beer cans in the US are up 89% year on year; bottles, meanwhile, are only up a meagre 9%. In the UK, it is even more dramatic – with specialist beer distributors, such as James Clay, seeing sales of canned beer rocket by more than 250% this year.
Oliver Robinson Managing Director (Beer Division) of Robinsons Brewery comments on the rise in popularity of canned beer: “At the start of the millennium only a handful of small North American producers were canning their beers. Today, it’s the biggest growth area in the US craft industry with more than 400 US craft breweries (double the amount there was just 5 years ago) all electing to can their beers rather than bottle, and I have a sneaky suspicion that a canned comeback could be on the cards for the UK as well. There are many reasons for the rise in canned beers, but ultimately it boils down to the fact that there’s something rather cool about a premium beer in a can! However it must be reiterated that the bottle has been hugely successful for us, with over 4.25 MILLION 500ml TROOPER bottles sold worldwide to date. Bottled beer isn’t going anywhere as the launch of our ‘lifestyle’ 330ml bottle earlier this year shows but cans within the US market have certainly found a solid footing for the future.”
Lanny Hoff, VP, Brand Development and Marketing, Artisanal Imports, and Robinsons’ exclusive import partners for the USA, comments: “We’re big fans of cans! Not only do TROOPER cans look fantastic on the shelf, they are made from aluminium and lined with an ultra-thin, water-based polymer lining, so the beer never touches metal. From a brewer’s point of view, cans are lighter and take up less space than bottles, which makes them cheaper to store and transport. They’re environmentally friendly as the metal used to make them is 100% recyclable. Whether from a bottle or a can, we would always recommend that quality ale be poured into a glass before drinking – ideally in the correct branded glass and with some Maiden on the stereo for the ultimate drinking experience!”
