Craft Brewers Embrace the Four-Pack
Rather than a traditional six-pack, craft beer makers opt for 16-ounce cans bundled into groups of four.
Jul 19, 2019
BOULDER, Colo.—The traditional six-pack is a little lighter these days, as more craft breweries are opting instead for four-packs, the Boston Globe reports. The change began around five years back, when more drinkers of craft beer began preferring aluminum cans to glass bottles.
“Even if it’s a good, quality beer, it won’t sell if it’s sitting on the shelf in the six-pack format instead of the 16-ounce four-packs,” said Rob Vandenabeele, co-founder of the craft beer website Mass. Beer Bros.
Many smaller brewers saw the four-pack as a way to stand out from the rest of the pack. Visually, a 16-ounce also gives brewers “a bigger canvas for artwork and brand design,” said Bart Watson with the Brewers Association. While four-packs are all across the country, the smaller size has really caught on in New England, according to Michael Oxton, who co-founded Night Shift Brewing.
The shift from bottles to cans, both 16- and 12-ounce varieties, continues to heat up. “Cans are pulling much faster off the shelves,” said Sam Hendler, co-founder of Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers. “Consumers want cans and brewers want to put their product in a package that’s going to see the highest rates of sale.”
According to Nielsen Holdings, over the past two years sales of canned craft beer have jumped 33%, while bottle sales have dropped 12%. “The aluminum beverage can, due to its functionality and sustainability attributes, is becoming the package of choice for beer and soft drink fillers across the country,” said Robert Budway, president of the Can Manufacturers Institute.
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