A little while ago, Sixpoint Brewing announced that they would start running some of their brews in can-form. While this came as a bit of a shock to some, they aren't the only craft brewer who has been shouting the virtues of The Can.

Sly Fox has been selling their canned deliciousness for several years now, and so has Oskar Blues (one of our favorite breweries from out in Colorado). These breweries hold high honors in the beer world, so why the change?

Cans overall have received a pretty bad reputation. For many years, the generalization was that cans were reserved for bottom-shelf domestic beer. Bottles let people know to expect something a little different, but glass can be terribly costly. Glass bottles also don't keep the beer as fresh as cans do.

Two of beer's major enemies when it comes to preservation are light and air. Lengthy exposure to either can damage the flavor. Bottles can block light, but not nearly as well as aluminum. When it comes to air, the packaging process during canning adds a significantly smaller amount. Plus, when all is said and done, aluminum is much easier to recycle.

Sixpoint has released their new four-packs of 16oz. cans for convenient shipping and stocking as well. The standard six-pack cannot be readily stacked, meaning that floor displays rely on shelving units. The new four-packs can be easily stacked in any fashion, so inventory can be more attractively displayed.

The next time you're browsing the beer, give those cans a second look. You may find some of the best brews hiding in plain sight.

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