MicroBrewr 030: Hire a mobile canning system and put your beer cans on store shelves sooner

Myles Stone was in his second year of medical school when he and Michael Mallozzi started Borderlands Brewing Co. in Tucson, Arizona with just $2,000. They both have full-time jobs besides the brewery, but they make it work. “Our secret,” says Myles, “Is to have wonderful people around us.” Water is scarce in the deserts […]

The post MicroBrewr 030: Hire a mobile canning system and put your beer cans on store shelves sooner appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Myles Stone was in his second year of medical school when he and Michael Mallozzi started Borderlands Brewing Co. in Tucson, Arizona with just $2,000. They both have full-time jobs besides the brewery, but they make it work. “Our secret,” says Myles, “Is to have wonderful people around us.”

Water is scarce in the deserts around Tucson. Conservation is central to Borderlands Brewing Co. operations. They save water in the following ways.

Cut water use one-third by running hot water in the heat exchanger, through cool water in a rainwater harvesting system.
Save rinse-water by adjusting pH to use it again, before putting it down the drain.

I wasn’t expecting a discussion about mobile canning companies. Yet Myles offers great insight on using mobile canning systems for his craft brewery.

Three years since opening, Borderlands Brewing Co. is already canning beer. Rather than buy their own canning line, Borderlands Brewing Co. hires mobile canning companies to package their product into beer cans.

Mobile canning is becoming very popular for small craft breweries. After investing in all the normal brewing equipment, there is no capital left for luxuries like a beer canning system.

There are now several mobile canning companies in the US. Usually their truck will travel wide, often spanning several states. Reservations must be made well in advance. A large truck will come with fully operational, mobile canning equipment, and package your product on-site.

Check out the resources below and find out whether mobile beer canning is right for your craft beer.

Listener question:

From Sean Myles: Is it important to allow customers to see the production facility? If so, how much do you let them see? What do you want to keep out of their view?

Book recommendation:

Beer School: Bottling Success at the Brooklyn Brewery by Steve Hindy and Tom Potter.

Check out the entire list of recommended books, click here.

An upcoming beer style:

Dark beer

Sour beer

Other resources:

61 Brewers Speak Out: What I Wish I’d Known Before Starting a Brewery by Joe Shelerud, February 9, 2014.
Mobile West Canning, San Diego, CA. “A Mobile Canning Systems affiliate.”
Mobile Canning Systems “the first craft beer mobile canning system in the country.”
Hot New Venture: Migrant Beer-Canning Expert by James R. Hagerty, The Wall Street Journal, August 21, 2014.
Atlanta craft brewers look to mobile canning for wider distribution by Osayi Endolyn, Atlanta Magazine, August 14, 2014.
Have Canning Line, Will Travel: The Impact of Mobile Canning by Russ Phillips of CraftCans.com, craftbeer.com, August 12, 2013.
Goin’ mobile: Craft canning lines brought straight to your brewery door by Chris Crowell, Craft Brewing Business, April 23, 2013.

You can reach Myles Stone and Borderlands Brewing Co. at:

borderlandsbrewing.com
Facebook: borderlandsbrewing
Twitter: @borderlandsbeer

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The post MicroBrewr 030: Hire a mobile canning system and put your beer cans on store shelves sooner appeared first on MicroBrewr.