Welcome to ProBrewer, a resource serving all trades of the brewing industry. Over a quarter century ago ProBrewer went online to serve the brewing industry. That remains our sole mission, purpose and focus. It’s our “Why.” Our mantra is “for the greater good of beer.” Every feature, action and decision is filtered through this ethos. We’d love your feedback. Within the pages of ProBrewer.com, you will find numerous tools and materials to assist you in your endeavors within the beer business, from the technical side of brewing to sales and distribution – and everything in between. ProBrewer is dedicated to empowering the specialty beer segment through the dissemination of comprehensive, current and relevant information.Is Your Can Recyclable? Four Keys to Can Design that Don’t Contaminate the Recycling Stream
It turns out that cool label on an IPA might actually be a contaminate for the recycling stream.
Over the last two years as draft beer sales have fluctuated around the country, smaller breweries have been scrambling to keep up with packaged offerings, mostly in the form of cans.
For over 140 years, the Siebel Institute of Technology has attracted an extensive global following. Our alumni span more than 60 countries and are found in almost every major brewery on earth. Our on-campus classes include a mix of participants from breweries of all sizes who hail from locations all over the world, enhancing our student’s learning experience by exposing them to differences in culture, equipment, methods and beer styles.
Of course, this has led to reports of can shortages and news that some of the manufacturers are working around the clock at existing plants and even building new ones to keep up with a demand that is likely to continue into the future.
It is funny to think that in less than a decade aluminum cans have become the preferred vessel for both small breweries and their consumers. The once ubiquitous glass bottles are still on shelves, but save for very special releases, like anniversary beers, or where a style demands a proper bottle, like a gueuze or lambic, cans are the dominant force.
Aluminum cans are the most sustainable beverage package on virtually every measure, according to a recent report by the Aluminum Association, which points out that cans have a higher recycling rate and far more recycled content (73 percent on average) than competing package types, like glass.
This move has meant more cans in municipal recycling streams and while that is great for the environment, there are some labels, especially those made of plastic, which can cause batch contamination and negatively impact recycling operations and even create operational and safety issues.
