Edmonton’s original craft beer producer Alley Kat Brewing Company has announced that after packaging almost exclusively in bottles since releasing its first beer in 1995, the company is switching to cans in the spring of 2020, a story first reported in Canadian Beer News.

The first cans to hit shelves will be filled with the latest Double IPA from the brewery’s Dragon series. African Queen Dragon, hopped with African Queen hops imported from South Africa’s Western Cape province, will be available after March 12th at the Alley Kat Brewery and select liquor stores.

The rest of the Alley Kat lineup will roll out in cans as bottle inventory sells out throughout March and April. The decision to switch to cans from bottles was made based on market demand and has been under consideration since 2018.

“We’ve been watching the market closely for years and the trend from bottles to cans shows no sign of slowing down,” said former co-owner Neil Herbst who recently sold the brewery but remains involved in day-to-day operations. “Based on these market conditions, we decided in early 2019 that we had to make this switch in order to provide craft beer drinkers with their preferred beer drinking experience.”

According to statistics provided by Beer Canada, the percentage of packaged domestic bottled beer sold in Alberta has dropped significantly over the last several years:

2012 Bottles: 24.5% Cans: 75.5% 

2016 Bottles: 17.9% Cans: 82.1% 

2017 Bottles: 16.2% Cans: 83.8% 

2018 Bottles: 15.0% Cans: 85.0% 

2019 Bottles: 12.6% Cans: 87.4% 

Although the company was already well into the process of switching to cans when they purchased the brewery in February of 2020, Alley Kat’s new owners, Cameron French and Zane Christensen, see several advantages to canned beer.

“Cans are perfect for all kinds of summer activities, whether it’s golfing, camping, or outdoor festivals. I can’t wait to see Alley Kat cans at the first barbecue of the season,” said French. “Plus the can design allows us to provide the consumer with tons of information about the beer they’re drinking, along with a few other fun surprises.”

Alley Kat has always prioritized sustainability whenever possible, and maintaining that priority was very important to the company. “As a brewery, we remain focused on environmentally friendly business practices and that was at the heart of every decision made throughout this process,” said Christensen.