Is Bottled Beer Better Than Canned Beer?

You may be noticing that more and more of your favorite craft beers are becoming available in cans. Why is this happening? Aren’t bottles superior to cans for beer? Shouldn’t craft beer, which is more expensive, use the best available containers? The answer to the second question is simple. Bottles are in no way superior to cans for beer, except for one problem still seeking a solution.

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The truth may be surprising. Cans are superior to bottles. Modern aluminum cans are absolutely air-tight and protect the beer from all light. They also weigh much less than bottles, which reduces shipping costs. They store more easily, too. All this makes cans a superior choice for beer makers.

Why Are Craft Beer Brewers Using Cans?

Craft beer makers have always known that cans are a better choice. Unfortunately, they’ve had to put up with a public stigma toward cans that has been present for decades.

As the craft beer consumer becomes more educated, many craft brewers have begun offering their beers in cans. This will save them money and result in a better product, one protected from light and air.

Light, for one, is beer’s number-one enemy! Clear, green, or blue bottles let in a lot of light which causes a beer to skunk. However, even brown bottles do not offer absolute protection.

Canned beer sales have been rising steadily giving craft brewers an incentive to put their beer into cans. The sales of can beer are still not anywhere near the sales of bottled beer, but it is clear that Americans are beginning to accept cans.

As more people begin opting for cans, the beer makers will be able to pass their savings on to their customers, making craft beer less expensive and closer in price to the macro-brews that long dominated the American beer market. It’s a win-win for everyone. Craft beers get to use the best-available containers and beer drinkers save money and get a better beer that holds up longer.

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Does Beer Taste Better Out Of a Bottle?

Beer tastes better out of a glass. But, it’s a fair question as nothing I’ve written so far addresses the taste of the beer. Perhaps the can affect the taste. Early beer cans certainly affected the taste of beer.

However, in blind taste tests, there has been no evidence that people prefer the taste of bottled beer over canned beer. People seem to like the same beer the same amount, whether it comes from a bottle or a can.

However, to do a blind taste test, you have to put the beer in a glass, or at least a plastic cup. Beer is never at its best when drunk straight out of a can or bottle. The can itself, though, makes no discernable difference to the taste.

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Cans Weren’t Always Superior

Cans, of course, earned their reputation for being worse than bottles. The first beer cans did not have a protective lining, causing beer to take on a metallic taste. Early beer cans also didn’t have pull tabs, making them more difficult to open. You had to punch two holes in the top!

The Big Problem Still Facing Cans: BPA

There is still one reason you may want to avoid cans and opt for buying the bottle version of your favorite beer: BPA.

All aluminum beverage cans are lined with a plastic (epoxy resin) coating to keep the contents from eroding the can and to keep the can from affecting the contents.

The problem is that this plastic lining itself can affect the contents. BPA or bisphenol A is used to make this epoxy resin lining. ¹

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BPA has been used to make aluminum cans since the 1950s. You’ve already been exposed to it for decades unless you’ve never drunk a soda or other beverage out of a can. As well, it’s even in the dust you breathe. Whether or not you drink canned beer, you are exposed to BPA in small amounts. ¹

BPA is used in some food packaging, reusable water bottles, infant bottles, impact-resistant safety shields, and other equipment, medical devices, some dental fillings or implants, food cans, bottle tops, and water supply lines. ²

To be clear, regular plastic PET beverage containers like soda bottles or water bottles do not contain BPA, although their caps may have BPA in the lining.

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PET pouches and cartons also do not use BPA. Reuseable water bottles sold to consumers may contain BPA, but many of these bottles are using BPA-free alternatives. These are easy to find. A popular brand is Nalgene water bottles.

Regulatory authorities in most of the world have deemed BPA safe and studies have shown that actual migration of BPA into beverages and foods is extremely low. Only trace amounts of it leach into beer from beer cans. ¹,²

These small amounts of BPA have not been linked to any health effects in adults, but there are fears that it could affect the health of small children as it mimics estrogen in the body. There are fears that it may affect the brain in young children, infants, and fetuses, as well as the prostate gland. ³

Beer brewers aren’t ignoring this problem. The industry is searching for an alternative. Unfortunately, for right now, none is available to them. There just isn’t a coating that works as well as ones made with BPA. ⁴

Cambell’s, for its part, seems to feel fine with BPA-free linings. They have transitioned to BPA-free for all their aluminum and steel cans. ⁵

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While there is not much evidence that adult exposure to BPA in these trace amounts is harmful to health, there is enough concern and a good reason to explore alternatives.

Should you be worried? Well, I can only tell you that I do not worry about BPA. I buy my beer in cans when my favorites are available in this packaging. I don’t worry at all about BPA, even after I researched this article.

As always, your decisions about your own health are up to you. If you are concerned about BPA in beer cans, don’t worry, bottles aren’t going anywhere soon.

Update (3/1/2024)* According to the Can Manufacturers Institute, today about 95% of food cans are made without BPA. I have no updated information to offer that is specific to beer cans.