Community Beer Works are diving into the deep end of the retail market with the release of their first ever canned beer, That IPA, which is now available in 16oz. 4-pack cans.
Sure, you can go to the 15 Lafayette Avenue brewery and bring home a growler or a 32oz. Dixie can (no, it’s not called that, that’s copyrighted), but now you can bring home a four pack of their beloved flagship IPA offering, which is available at the brewery and at Consumers Beverages locations.
Although CBW considered canning other such flagships as Frank and The Whale, President and Co-Founder Ethan Cox admits that landing on That IPA was a fairly easy decision. But, as he also assures, ‘either [of those other beers] could still happen in the future.’
“In essence, it’s our best selling beer and, more broadly, people like IPAs, and given the size of the run, an IPA is a good choice for something that will disappear fast,” Cox says.
And disappear fast is will as only 3200 cans will be available for sale initially. That’s why customers will only be allowed a 2 x 4-pack limit to start. At the brewery itself, four packs of That IPA will run you $11 each, including tax and deposit.
Putting their beer in cans was always the plan for the nanobrewery, who have only been open for just over four and a half years, though CBW had to have a certain comfort level before moving forward to the next stage. They are currently canning That IPA up in Wilson, NY at Woodcock Brothers Brewing Company.
“We really had to feel entirely comfortable and confident on Woodcock Brothers brewing system, and now that we’ve been brewing there a while, we felt we were.”
While we might not know what beer CBW plans to can next (“we’ll be doing several runs of That IPA before we do the next/second beer,” he says), Cox has no fears about the market being saturated. “Well, I’m gonna say it’s not yet, and certainly not with CBW!”
Now that what’s done is done and CBW has entered the craft can market, Cox admits that he is both excited and nervous for what is to come and what this huge step means for the brewery.
“Excited because we know it’s a format people like; nervous because packaging and the shelf life that comes with it, things like aging and warm storage, rarely improves a beer. So, we hope it’s all consumed quickly.”
That IPA four packs will be available at all Consumers locations on November 4. You can sample cans at these following locations – 6161 W Quaker St., Orchard Park (3 to 5 p.m. Nov. 4), 3025 Sheridan Drive, Amherst (5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 4), 2440 Clinton St. (Noon to 2 p.m. Nov. 5) and 8580 Transit Road, East Amherst (2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 5).
For more information, check out https://www.facebook.com/communitybeerworks.
Brian Campbell is a co-founder/Brand Manager of the BNBA’s enthusiast arm, Buffalo Beer League, and writes the weekly Buffalo Beer Buzz column. He can be reached at buffalobeerleague@aol.com, on Twitter at @buffbeerleague and on Instagram at @buffalobeerleague.
