The Can Can Awards is the premier beer competition focused solely on canned craft beers. In their fifth year, over 750 beers were entered from across the globe, including entries from both big breweries and small breweries alike.

The Can Can Awards invites beer industry professionals to blindly sample canned beers submitted from breweries and brewpubs around the world. Each beer submitted is submitted in a specific style category. Our Judges Panel sips submitted beers in order to award Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals to the three beers that best represent each individual category of beers. Beers are assigned to Judges with specific and applicable experience with the particular category in question. Judges are never able to judge their own products or any products with any relation to them.

The Can Can Awards are trying to elevate the conversation and speed up the adoption of canned craft beer. There are still some beer styles that are seen as “not good for cans” and that should not be the case. It is our sincere hope that a can-only competition can help make a dent in that perception over time.

According to 2016 Q1 sales data, canned craft beer is still only 9% of the total craft beer market. In contrast, bottled craft beer comprises over 65% of the market. So while cans may be increasing in popularity, slowly but surely, they are still not getting the recognition they deserve as a vessel to transport beer.

Not only are they better for the beer, they’re much better for the environment. Even if you take recyclability out of the equation, they are still much cheaper to ship because they take up less room and weigh less, requiring fewer trucks and less fuel. In this new world of craft beer where the number of out-of-state and out-of-country breweries distributing is only increasing, mitigating the impact of transportation on the environment is a huge reason to advocate for cans.

• Cans are better for the beer, as they do not let in UV light which can skunk beer.
• Aluminum can be recycled multiple times with only minimal loss in quality. Aluminum is lighter and more durable than glass, which means less packaging and reduced weight, which leads to a reduced environmental impact during shipping.
• Cans are more convenient, as you do not need a bottle opener. They also stack easier and chill quicker than glass.
• Last but not least, cans can be brought to beaches, rivers, lakes, pools and golf courses (just to name a few fun places to drink beer).