It’s an exciting time for Canadian craft breweries

A winning combination

Contrary to what some might think, the growing popularity surrounding craft beers aren’t just down to their quirky and playful names to be only enjoyed by hipsters. Whilst ‘Order of Toast’, ’Full Grown Man’, and ‘Backyard Crusher’ might raise a few eyebrows, craft beers are created for individual and discerning tastes.

Where commercial breweries are centred on mass-production (sometimes losing out on quality), you only have to pick up a craft beer to know that they’re bursting with bright flavours, coloured with subtle hoppy hints, or filled with brooding, malty notes.

The fact that Canadian craft beer production showed significant growth in 2016 which continued into 2018– bucking the trend of declining beer sales – shows that it’s an exciting time for Canadian craft beer and is a further testament to the industry’s success.

An international outlook

Canada has a competitive edge when it comes to creating internationally renowned beers: access to high-quality malt barely and an abundance of clean, fresh water are certainly a few factors that play into their success.

In 2017 the number of brewing facilities increased by 21.8% from 817 in 2017 to an all-time high of 995. So far in 2019 Canadian beer exports have generated around £169.8 million – though Beer Canada statistics don’t distinguish between craft and commercial beers.

Embracing the future

According to Beer Canada, cans continue to assert their dominance over bottles; in 2018, national can sales rose by 4.6%. With recent social trends turning towards questions about sustainable practices, this presents creative – but important – challenges for businesses around the world. Plastic packaging, especially for cans, has been given a bad rap.

For Canada’s Lagabière, the introduction of WaveGrip’s G1 applicator and carriers has enabled the artisianal brewery to begin improving production with an aim of doubling can output over the new few years.

With the announcement that Canada would seek to ban all single-use plastics by 2021, Lagabiere’s choice of WaveGrip’s sustainable carriers and G1 applicator shows that this craft brewery isn’t afraid to lead the way when it comes to corporate responsibility. Weighing less than 4g for a standard six-pack and using less material than any other multi-packing solution, WaveGrip is the lightest carrier on the market. Additionally, all WaveGrip carriers are 100% recyclable and meet current US Packaging regulations by being photodegradable.

With an aim of reducing single use plastics the can is increasingly important for drinks manufacturers who will have to choose between aluminium and glass.

Cans keep the enemies of freshness, UV light and oxygen, out and maintain the bright and exciting flavours that the brewer intended the drinker to experience.

Cans are also infinitely recyclable, lighter to carry, take up less space, chill quicker, don’t smash to a million pieces when dropped and are welcomed around the pool, beach, music festivals and even gold courses.

Want to find out more? Contact us today to find out how WaveGrip can deliver for your 4,6 or 8 packs. hello@wave-grip.com