23 Jul Flat12 Bierwerks and Michigan Mobile Canning Team Up for a Craft Beer Industry First!
By Charlie Sasse
How often is it that we hear about an industry first in craft beer? As craft brewing grows, industry firsts are becoming more and more uncommon. So when I heard a brewery was trying to create an 8-ounce canned beer, which was being done for the first time in craft beer history, and it was being done in Indianapolis, I had to learn more.
Flat12 Bierwerks decided to can their 2016 Pinko! Russian Imperial Stout on July 17, 2016, and I was lucky enough to snag an invite. While this may not seem like a first-time event, the Pinko! was sealed in 8-ounce cans. Think of those short, squatty cans you might buy to give the kids, so they don’t drink too much soda. Or, if you’re like me, you might buy them because you don’t need much soda for your cocktails (I like my whiskey and soda to still taste like whiskey). The little stubby cans that have held soft drinks for so long now contain a Russian Imperial Stout (RIS) coming in at just over 10% ABV. While some may not understand the why behind using these cans, I like the idea of being able to have 8 ounces of a delicious RIS without a big commitment. I usually like to drink different styles, or beers of the same style and smaller pours of double-digit ABV brews make it easier to drink multiple.
My day started when I strolled in at 9:30 a.m. and met the guys from Michigan Mobile Canning and Indiana Mobile Canning. They had arrived about thirty minutes before me and were nearly done setting up the mobile canning line that Andrew McLean (owner of Michigan Mobile Canning) trailered down from Kalamazoo, Michigan. Since this was a first, and they were running 120 cases, McLean, and his team chose to utilize the manual process to prepare and feed cans to the machine. This includes sanitizing the cans with spray bottles, inspecting each can before it is fed into the system, and placing the cans on the conveyor belt by hand to be filled with tasty beer. I am sure there is much more to the process but my brain only processed those visual steps.
After being loaded onto the belt the machine did MOST of the work, with Derreck Ramsey (Indiana Mobile) watching the line for any issues to pop up. He is the last line of defense when it comes to making sure cans make it through unscathed. When there is an extremely rare whiff, it is a delicious error that no one complains about! I think he missed one on purpose so I could drink a second Pinko! out of the mangled can, but don’t tell anyone.
It is an amazing process; watching 42 cans fly through the machine per minute! In comparison, Flat12’s bottling line pushes through approximately one case of bottles per minute. It is so efficient that in 120 cases of cans, I saw less than ten “shorts” make it through the line. Believe me, the boys were weighing cans as they came off the line to ensure quality.
I asked about the speed of the Wild Goose Canning line and what causes the limitations. I learned the number of seamers (the part that seals the top to the rest of the can) determines the max speed of the machine. Other than that, Ramsey said the quality and temperature of the beer and head pressure played the next major role. Obviously, the people working the line have an effect on the process, but the guys from Michigan Mobile Canning and Flat12 appeared to have this process down to a science.
The canning line being used for Pinko! was a four-head machine with one seamer. Wild Goose makes several different lines including a 10-head machine with three seamers. If you do the math, this machine has the capability to spit out 120-plus cans a minute. I would call that ridiculously fast, and you better have enough people pulling cans or it could end up looking like this YouTube Clip! Watching the cans coming off the line, and getting snapped into 6-packs, made for an entertaining Sunday morning! I am certain it had absolutely nothing to do with the two cans of Pinko! I drank…
From start to finish, the process lasted just over 90 minutes. This was an extremely fast process, especially considering it was the first time anyone had ever canned 8-ounce cans, while using their manual process to prep and feed cans, and I was standing in the way half of the time trying to take pictures and ask questions!
In the future, look out for some smaller batches of one-off beers in cans from Flat12. Ramsey created a system that allows the canning line to fill from kegs. This makes it easier for Flat12—and other breweries—to can from their small batch 12 Gallon, WildWerks, and award winning WoodWerks programs. Next time you’re at Flat12 look in the cooler, by the growler fill station for some different options. You might be surprised by what you find like Upside Down Blonde transitioned from bottles into 12-ounce cans.
Michigan Mobile has a solid reputation in the industry, and a well deserved one. They have been working hard to build their reputation since opening in June 2013. The first brewery to come down their canning line was Right Brain Brewing. If you don’t know these guys drive up to Michigan and grab a bottle of Naughty Girl Scout…you’re welcome. Flat12 was the first Indiana brewery to utilize Michigan Mobile’s services in this state, but they certainly weren’t the last. In fact, business increased to the point they opened Indiana Mobile Canning in January of 2015. Who else is jealous they didn’t think of this first?
Keep drinking great beer and talking about it; I know I will!
For further information regarding the back-story on the 8-ounce Pinko cans and some of the equipment and supplier involved in this process, see below:
Christmas in July/8-ounce can story – Mathew Muncy
Michigan/Indiana Mobile Canning – Scott Richards, Andrew McLean, and Derreck Ramsey
Wild Goose Canning – Alan Coon and Roger Walz
Mossberg & Co. (cans and can wraps*) – Valerie Anderson
*Cans supplied by Mossberg & Co. from Crown Holdings Inc., formerly Crown Cork and Seal Co.
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