A good mobile operator will collaborate with you through the business lifecycle – supporting you long after volumes have justified taking packaging operations in house, explain the team at Bevcraft.

The advent of micro-scale canning has revolutionised the craft beer sector; Prior to the introduction of the technology in North America, canning had been the sole preserve of enormous, macro scale producers.

Canning lines in these facilities package in an hour what many small producers might do in a year; In addition, they were fed by can manufacturing plants set up to service one or two big ticket customers with billions of cans per annum. Low customisation, massive scale – the antithesis of craft; The supply chain just was not set up for small-to-medium sized brewers.

 By c. 2010, access to smaller, simple-to-operate canning equipment unlocked a world of possibilities for the craft brewer – access to new export markets through lower transport costs, ability to efficiently cold store and the end of light-struck beer.

The foundations laid by the early pioneers of smaller scale canning, both manufacturers of equipment and their early adopters, has resulted in a sea-change in terms of how we produce, package, and consume beer.

Canning is not for everyone – some wonderful breweries have famously sidestepped the format for their own, respected, reasons – it has become a fundamental cornerstone of the sector that would be foolish to ignore as part of any brewery’s distribution strategy.

Packaging is often the ‘forgotten hero’ of the craft beverage space – get it right and nobody notices – consumers get exactly what they want in a package that looks exactly as it should.

Get it wrong, and things get messy – oxidised beer, scuffed/chipped artwork, over-carbonation – leading to exploding cans at higher storage temperatures. “Getting it wrong” can be existentially damaging – imagine getting the call at 10pm to be told that your big export order is being recalled, and you are the one footing the bill to get it off your customer’s site: A true story from the early days of small scale canning where the brewer made some unfortunate decisions on equipment and processes that ultimately cost many multiples of the initial capital outlay.

With over seven years of experience running a mobile canning operation across Europe & the US, we are often asked – what does “getting it right” mean, and what does it take to avoid “getting it wrong”?

These are the questions we ask ourselves everyday – the answer is always evolving as technology and indeed our own knowledge base grows.

We run 20+ lines across our network – at any one time we could be packaging in Ireland, the UK, Netherlands, Norway, or New Jersey – needless to say, getting the process right is what keeps the phone from ringing at 10pm!

So, what does it take? Let us start with the core equipment available. There are dozens of canning line manufacturers producing lines in the 1000-5000 Cans Per Hour (CPM) range. Manufacturers in US, Canada, UK, and many EU countries have popped up in the past 5 years.

We have our preferred suppliers but really, there is no right or wrong answer here among the household names; It comes down to what you need – do your volumes justify the capital expenditure/ Repairs / Interest and Depreciation, will you have local support, is the equipment expandable / flexible enough to allow you to grow without becoming a bottleneck. These are questions and answers unique to your operation that should be carefully considered.

Once core equipment has been decided upon – the next step is ancillaries: QC/QA kit, conveyance and can-handling equipment.

The cost of a good quality DO meter should be considered part of the core investment – undertaking a canning run without this is the beer packaging equivalent to driving a bus with your eyes closed.

All the well-known canning line manufacturers can achieve extremely low DO pickup – doing so is up to the operator, the condition of their product, and rigorous process that involves monitoring and recording of data on an ongoing basis.

Whether in-house or mobile, your packaging line operator should be able to demonstrate this data in real time – giving you peace of mind that the product stands the best chance of remaining fresh for the duration of its nominal shelf-life.

Lab work is another element that should not be overlooked just because the beer has made it to the BBT. Packaging lines, gaskets and carb stones are notorious hiding places for beer spoilers – regular testing (plating & PCR) for wild yeasts such as Diastaticus / STA-1 goes a long way to preventing the dreaded ‘exploding can’.

A good mobile canning provider will be able to provide a screening programme for this – there are also plenty of options out there in terms of lab partners who can assist.

The above are what we would consider ‘key considerations’ – yet they count for very little in the absence of a competent, confident and well-motivated team.

The packaging line operator should not be considered a ‘side gig’, or an ‘hours filler’ in brewery operations – these people are the final point of contact with your product before it goes out to retail – the final hand in terms of getting it right, or wrong, is down to them.

Our mobile canning technicians tie this all together – equipment, process, and a relentless commitment to product quality. If you are considering getting into canning for the first time, upgrading kit, or looking for packaging advice, we would highly recommend having a chat with your local mobile canning operator.

A good mobile operator will collaborate with you through the business lifecycle – supporting you long after volumes have justified taking packaging operations in house with can supply & decoration, machinery rental, QA, and technical support. Good luck on your canning journey!