You can’t swing a cat without hitting a golf course in Myrtle Beach… is why one of our customers, New South Brewing, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, made the leap straight from draft into cans.
There are over 100 courses within a 20 minute drive. There are more golf courses per square mile in this part of South Carolina than any other part of the world. “If you don’t sell beer in cans there, you don’t sell beer” explains the owner, David Epstein. “Also, it’s such a popular tourist destination that we want our beer to be available on the beaches, at the marinas and for tourists to take home.”
Established in 1999, New South Brewing has been an all draft brewery for ten years and produces 4 to 5 thousand kegs a year of award winning ales and lagers. Earlier this year they purchased a manual canning system to start canning their famous White Ale – the microbrewery’s “flagship” brew. “We liked the ease and simplicity of the canning system versus a bottling line” states Dave “and we just knew we needed to be in cans.”
South Carolina has a 3 tier distribution system so New South works with a distributor to market their products. The company they had used since 1999 was dropping their beer portfolio at the same time that New South decided to get in to cans. Bad move for that distributor. Dave went through an interview process to find a new distributor. He chose one who has decided to market product from a number of craft brewers. Having the draft beer volume that New South had developed over the years was a bonus but they were really excited about getting cans in to the marketplace. It’s an exciting new product for their reps to sell.
And here’s another reason to can craft brews. According to GQ – it’s the fashionable way to drink beer now. For over 50 years GQ has been the premiere men’s magazine, providing definitive coverage of men’s style and culture. With its unique and powerful design, the best photographers, and a well of award-winning writers, GQ reaches millions of leading men each month. In their October 2009 issue they did a review of some canned craft beers and here are some excerpts on what they had to say…
“Think canned beer’s cheap and crappy? Not anymore. Regional craft brews are now available in easy-to-ship aluminum cans, meaning you can crack them no matter where you live.”
“Plus, they get your beer colder faster and travel easier, too. And that’s really the best part: You’ll never have to sacrifice taste for convenience.”
– Howie Kahn, GQ, October, 2009
Our automated and manual canning systems offer a cost effective way to enter the can packaging segment. To learn more you can go to www.cask.com and see a demonstration of our automated system and learn about all of the benefits of canning.
