It seems like everywhere I go (to drink craft beer) it’s becoming more and more common for me to show up just as the Mobile West folks are cleaning up after what is for them, just another day of packaging San Diego’s legendary elixirs for distribution to the masses.

What used to be seen as a substandard vessel for the transport of your favorite brew, cans are quickly becoming the go-to for many breweries seeking to preserve that fresh-outta-the-tank goodness for consumers unfortunate enough not to be sitting in their tasting room next to the fermenters.

Much to my own dismay, it seems that the 22oz bomber is slowly falling out of favor, as are bottles in general. My only beef with that is that bottles look better (IMO) when I’m taking pics of my evening beverage to post on Instagram… Light doesn’t shine through a can, it bounces off of it… Good for maintaining freshness, not so good for social media.

Methinks my priority here would be a thing of ridicule to many “in the know”, but for me it’s also a consideration due to the fact my bomber collection serves as a Captain’s Log of sorts that tracks not only what I’ve been drinking, but in some cases, the evolution of branding. Hate to see all that hard work cast out to the recycling bin because of obsolescence.

Another place I’ve noticed the increased presence of in-can-ta-tions is my local liquor store. They used to have bombers for days but cans take up less space and they can show more variety “up front” in the coolers with smaller packaging. If that isn’t evidence enough that bombers and bottles in general may be becoming munitions of the past, even the traditional growler is under fire, often being replaced with state-of-the-art, vacuum insulated stainless steel or even crowlers. (It’s basically a growler in a big can, get it?)

You can find more canned observations from Andrew Dyer at City Beat.

Cheers!