"Can Your Own Beer: A Step-by-Step Guide for home brewers

Monday, February 6, 2023

Are you ready to take your homebrew to the next level?

Canning your own beer is the ultimate upgrade, transforming your creations from a hobby enjoyed at home to a portable, professional-quality product you can share anywhere. 

It’s the best way to protect your beer from its mortal enemies - light and oxygen -ensuring that the pint you crack open months from now tastes exactly as you intended.

In 1935, Krueger's Cream Ale was the first beer ever sold in a can, revolutionizing the industry. 

Now, that same technology is accessible to you. This guide will go over everything you need to know about canning beer, from the science of the seam to the step-by-step process of filling and sealing that perfect can.

Part 1: The Science of the Superior Package

Why Cans Are King: Defeating Light and Oxygen

The move to canning is driven by science. Cans offer unparalleled protection against the two biggest enemies of beer flavor and stability.

Total Light Protection: Preventing the "Skunk"

When UV light hits the iso-alpha acids from hops, it creates a chemical reaction that produces 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol (3-MBT). 

This compound is nearly identical to the defense spray of a skunk, and it's why we call light-struck beer "skunked." 

Brown bottles block most, but not all, of this light. Aluminum cans block 100% of it. 

No light, no skunking. Ever.

The Oxygen Enemy: A Hermetic Seal

Oxygen is the great destroyer of beer flavor, creating stale, papery, wet-cardboard notes through oxidation. 

While a bottle cap offers a good seal, it's not perfect and can degrade over time. 

A properly formed double seam on a can is a true hermetic seal, providing the best possible protection against oxygen ingress and ensuring your beer stays fresher for longer.

Part 2: Gearing Up — Your Home Cannery Toolkit

The Essential Equipment

While it requires an initial investment, a home canning setup is surprisingly straightforward.

  • Benchtop Can Seamer: This is the heart of your operation. Machines like the Oktober Can Seamer or the Cannular are popular, reliable choices for homebrewers. They are designed to create that perfect, airtight double seam.
  • Cans and Lids ("Ends"): You'll need standard 12oz or 16oz aluminum cans ("brites") and the corresponding lids. Always use new lids, as their sealing compound is single-use.
  • Filling Equipment: At a minimum, a simple bottling wand attached to your siphon will work. For the best results and lowest oxygen pickup, a counter-pressure filler or a dedicated beer gun is a worthy upgrade.
  • Sanitizer: As always in brewing, sanitation is non-negotiable. A no-rinse sanitizer like Star San is perfect for this job.
Part 3: The Brewer's Protocol — Your Canning Day Masterclass

From Fermenter to Finished Can: A Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Get Cold and Clean. Cold crash your beer for 24-48 hours before canning. Cold beer holds CO2 in solution better, which means less foaming. Thoroughly clean and sanitize everything: your transfer lines, filler, cans, and especially the lids.
  2. Step 2: The Fill - "Can on Foam". This is the most critical technique for minimizing oxygen. Fill the can from the bottom up. As the can fills, create a cap of foam that rises just over the rim. This foam is almost entirely CO2 and acts as a barrier, pushing the oxygen-rich air out of the can.
  3. Step 3: Place the Lid. As soon as the foam rises over the rim, gently place a sanitized lid on top. The goal is to trap that CO2 blanket and exclude all air.
  4. Step 4: The Seam. Immediately place the can on your seamer and activate the seaming process. The machine will perform a two-stage operation, first curling the lid and can together and then pressing them into a permanent, airtight double seam.
  5. Step 5: Inspect Your Work. After seaming, inspect the seal. It should be smooth, with no sharp edges or wrinkles. Gently press on the top of the can; it should be firm and not make any noise.

A Note on Pasteurization

Some guides mention pasteurizing cans in hot water. 

For a homebrewer who has practiced good sanitation, this is an unnecessary and potentially flavor-damaging step. 

Proper cleaning and sanitation are your best tools for ensuring shelf stability. Commercial breweries pasteurize to guarantee stability across long and unpredictable supply chains; you don't need to.

Canning is more than just a new package; it's a commitment to quality. It's the best way to preserve the flavor and aroma you worked so hard to create.

 While it requires an investment in equipment and a mastery of the process, the reward is perfectly carbonated, brewery-fresh beer that you can take anywhere. 

It's time to elevate your hobby and share your passion with the world, one perfectly seamed can at a time.

Leave a Comment

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Powered by Blogger.

Tags

absorption caps abv acetaldehyde acid adjuncts advice about beer brewing aeration aeration kit aging air lock alcohol alcohol poisoning ale ale beer kits alkaline alkaline brewery wash all grain american amylase apera apples attenuation autolysis automatic temperature compensation bacteria baker's yeast baking yeast ball lock ball valve bar keepers friend barley batch prime beer brewing beer capper beer dispenser beer filtration kit system beer gushers beer kit beer kit review beer kits beer lines beer salt beer taps beerstone best brewing equipment biotin bittering BKF black rock bleach blichmann blow off tubing bluelab bohemian pilsner boil in a bag boil over boneface bottle cap bottle caps bottle conditioning bottling bottling beer bottling spigot bourbon brettanomyces brew and review brew day brewing beer guide brewing salts brewing spoon brewing sugar brewing thermostat british thermal unit brix brix scale BTU budvar buffer buffer solution burton snatch buyer's guide calcium chloride calcium sulphate calibration calibration probe calibration solution campden tablets capping carbon dioxide carbonation carbonation drops carboy cascade caustic soda cherry wine chinook chlorine christmas chronicle cider clarity cleaning your equipment clear beer clone recipe cloudy beer cold crashing coldbreak conditioning tablets conductivity conical fermenter contamination coopers copper tun corn sugar cornelius corny keg craft beer creamy beer crown cryo hops cubes danstar nottingham demijohn dextrose distilation DIY DME dopplebock draught dry hopping dry malt extract edelmetall brü burner eisbock ekuanot electrode enhancer enzyme equipment ester ethanol experiments in beer making faucet fermcap-s fermentables fermentation fermenter fermentis fermentor final gravity finings five star flat beer floccing foam inhibitor force carbonation french fresh wort pack fridge fruit fusel alchohol garage project gas burners gelatin gift and present ideas gin ginger beer glucose golden ale golden syrup goldings gose grain grain mill green bullet grist guinness gypsum hach hacks hallertauer heat mat heat pad heat wrap home brew honey hop schedule hops hops spider how not to brew beer how to brew that first beer how to brew with a beer kit how to grow hops how to make a hop tea how to wash yeast hydrated layer hydrogen sulfide hydrometer IBU ideas idophor infection inkbird instruments isoamyl acetate jelly beans jockey box john palmer juniper keezer keg cooler keg regulators kegco kegerator kegging kegs kettle kombucha krausen lactic acid lager lagering lauter lion brown liquid malt extract litmus LME lupulin lupulin powder lupuLN2 making beer malic acid malt malt mill maltodextrin mangrove jack's maple syrup mash mash paddle mash tun mccashins mead methanol micro brewing milling milwaukee MW102 mistakes mixing instructions moa mouth feel muntons must nano brewing New Zealand Brewer's Series no rinse nut brown ale oak oak wood chips off flavors original gravity oxygen pacific gem palaeo water pale ale panhead parsnip PBW pear pectine pectolase perlick ph levels ph meter ph pen pH strips ph tester pico brewing pilsner pitching yeast plastic drum poppet valve pot powdered brewing wash ppm precipitated chalk pressure relief valve priming prison hooch probe problem solving propane and propane accessories pruno pump system purity law radler re-using yeast recipe record keeping reddit refractometer reinheitsgebot removing beer labels from bottles review rice hulls riwaka rotten eggs saaz saccharomyces cerevisiae salt sanitization secondary regulator sediment seltzer session beer silicon simple tricks for brewing siphon site glass skunked beer small batch brewing soda soda ash soda stream sodium carbonate sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate sodium hydroxide sodium metasilicate sodium percarbonate sour beer sparge spigot spirals spirits spoon spraymalt star san starch STC-1000 steinlager steralisation sterilisation sterilization sterliization still stoke storage solution stout sucrose sugar supercharger tannins temperature temperature controller therminator thermometer tips for beginners tri-sodium phopsphate tricks and tips trub tubing tui turkey vodka infused gin vorlauf water water testing wet cardboard taste wet hopping weta whirlfloc tablets white claw williamswarn wine winter brewing wood wort wort chiller yeast yeast energizer yeast nutrient yeast rafts yeast starter yeast traps zinc

About the author Jimmy Jangles


My name is Jimmy Jangles, the founder of The Astromech. I have always been fascinated by the world of science fiction, especially the Star Wars universe, and I created this website to share my love for it with fellow fans.

At The Astromech, you can expect to find a variety of articles, reviews, and analysis related to science fiction, including books, movies, TV, and games.
From exploring the latest news and theories to discussing the classics, I aim to provide entertaining and informative content for all fans of the genre.

Whether you are a die-hard Star Trek fan or simply curious about the world of science fiction, The Astromech has something for everyone. So, sit back, relax, and join me on this journey through the stars!

Copyright How to Home Brew Beers.

Back to Top