Another item about canned craft beer (the second one this week) from 21st Amendment Brewery. They’ve started canning their watermelon beer (formerly "Watermelon Wheat") recently and renamed it to "Hell or High Watermelon"; the rest of the press release is similarly punny.

I’m unclear as to why the cans are only available in Alaska (outside of their own area of San Francisco); seems like Oregon / Washington / elsewhere in California would make more sense.

Just in time for Halloween, 21st Amendment Brewery has released craft beer disguised in a can. 21A’s "Hell or High Watermelon" wheat beer and "Brew Free! or Die" IPA are now available, in cans, in Alaska and the greater Bay Area, including Marin, Alameda and Contra Costa counties. They can be purchased:

• at better bars and neighborhood stores,
• at Beverages and More stores statewide in California,
• at finer specialty food chain stores such as Whole Foods, Mollie Stone’s and Andronico’s,
• and soon, in the Sacramento/Tahoe area.

Why cans? "Quite CAN-didly, that’s the number one question we get around here," said Chief Hop Head and Brewmaster Shaun O’Sullivan. So he and his co-founder, Nico Freccia, Chief Watermelon Officer, recently hosted an online press conference (a "weBEERnar") with beer writers and bloggers to discuss the merits of cans.

O’Sullivan explained, "Cans are simply better for the beer—they keep it fresher by protecting it from light, they are lined so they don’t affect the flavor of the beer, and they fit the craft beer drinker’s lifestyle by going places where glass just doesn’t dare – like beaches, pools, boats, parks and golf courses."

Freccia added, "Cans are also better for the environment. They use less energy to produce and transport, and they are recycled far more often than glass."

21A’s craft beers in a can have been well-received since being released in San Francisco this summer. According to O’Sullivan, "Clearly the demand is there for this CAN-cept. Beer aficionados say they love how convenient and portable the new cans are. And as a brewer I can really appreciate how the cans keep the beer fresher."

Referring to the weBEERnar, O’Sullivan said, "I think we created a few Can Evangelists with our CANvincing arguments."

Freccia responded, "Actually, I think it was the free beer we sent them."

Who the heck are these guys? Hey, we’re Nico & Shaun, founders of 21st Amendment Brewery, located at 563 Second Street in San Francisco, Calif. More importantly, we live for great beer. In 1920, there were thousands of breweries across America making unique, hand-crafted beer. The passage of Prohibition wiped out this great culture. On December 5, 1933, the states ratified the 21st Amendment, ending 13 years of Prohibition in America. At the 21st Amendment Brewery, we celebrate the right to brew beer, the freedom to be innovative, and the obligation to have fun.