Beer of the Week - Bitter American

"Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza." -Dave Barry


Today I want to talk about cans. If I truly love beer then I must lust for cans. (I want you to repeat that with me...) If I truly love beer then I must lust for cans. Ok, some of you need to get your minds out of the gutter.


But we all need to get our beer out of the gutter. And cans are the way to go. Two of beer's biggest enemies are light and air. Bottles do an admirable job in their force of resistance. But cans! They can do the job ten times better than their inefficient brother, the bottle.

Mrs. Bernie frowns on canned beer. We've had this argument before. But it's usually around the pool where bottles are strictly forbidden. And see, we should follow pools' lead. They know what's what kids. Cans are functional, efficient and safe!

A can of Bitter American, posing inside
of my favorite glass.

Luckily craft beer isn't only a bottled enterprise. Several big hitters in the craft beer biz are canning instead of bottling and others are getting onboard. Earlier this week it was announced that a new brewery on the market would start canning instead of bottling; West Sixth Brewery in Lexington understands what is best for its brew.

"There's been a stigma, an unfair stigma, against cans in the past that they're not as good for the beer and that it's not as high quality a product," said Ben Self, one of the founders of the company. "But we're seeing that's not the case."

Self said the company decided on cans because they're more portable than bottles, easier to recycle and can keep the beer fresher longer.

"It's so much better for the beer in preventing air and light into the container," he said. "It's a really superior container."

Superior. Isn't that we're all striving for? Ok. I'm done preaching for now. Just trust me and go try anything by Oskar Blues or 21st Amendment and several others, then tell me that cans aren't better.


Speaking of 21st Amendment. I had their Bitter American last night. It's a pretty light pale ale for all of us day to day American heroes. There's a LOT of hops on the nose, but it only packs 42 IBUs. I would say it tastes a little hoppier than that, but it definitely mellows on its way from the nose to the back on your mouth. And it's very sessionable at only 4.4% ABV. Overall I would say it's both light and very tasty.


So grab a can today. Be an American. Celebrate freshness.