“Crown really managed to make our HONCHO design pop,” notes Kevin Hopkins, Chief Branding Officer of Mother Earth Brew Co. and current President of the San Diego Brewers Guild. “While many Hefeweizens feature German/Bavarian influences in their packaging, we opted to focus on other aspects with a ‘Like A Boss’ theme. In fact, we placed the emphasis on the attitude of the beer drinker and imagined a 1960s casino pit boss, who might enjoy a well-crafted beer after a long shift. Other aspects of the design are high value poker chips that emphasize the beer’s inherent worth.”
You pinched every penny. You begged, borrowed, and stole to start your brewery. People are enjoying your beer at the taproom, and now you want to expand your reach. You still don’t have capital to buy a dedicated canning or bottling line. Matt Woempner, from Mobile West Canning, in San Diego, California, explains how mobile canning can work for you.
Mobile Canning West serves San Diego, Arizona and Southern Nevada. Mobile Canning Systems provides training and guidance to all of their affiliates. So if you’re outside of
Mobile West Canning’s area, you can likely find another affiliate who will come to you.
The system is pretty similar throughout.
Contact the mobile canners when you start a new batch of beer. So they’ll have enough time to schedule your job.
This might be the first time that you’re beer in being packaged, so attention short be given to the label. “Artwork, artwork, artwork,” says Matt. TTB has requirements for your label design, and many state alcohol control boards have additional requirements. The mobile canner will help make sure your labels are in compliance.
When the canners arrive, they’ll wheel the machine into your brewery, within several feet of the fermenter or bright tank. They will bring one or 2 people, and they’ll need the help of a few people from your brewery.
At the end of the day, your beer is in 12 oz. or 16 oz. cans, and ready to be sold!
There is a ton of detailed information in this episode—too much to recap here. So listen to the whole episode and see if mobile canning can help you achieve the goals for your brewery.
“This is a tremendous business to be in, and it’s an exciting time to be in that business.” [Tweet This]
Listener question:
From Lester Foldi: Is the Craft Brewers Conference worth the price for a nanobrewery still in the planning phase?
One of our Partners in Tucson, AZ @borderlandsbeer Myles Stone was interviewed and gave @MWCanning some mobile canning love. Thanks to Myles and the Borderlands team for all your help.
“Myles Stone was in his second year of medical school when he and Michael Mallozzi started Borderlands Brewing Co. in Tucson, Arizona with just $2,000. They both have full-time jobs besides the brewery, but they make it work. “Our secret,” says Myles, “Is to have wonderful people around us.”
