# What the truth about the "benefits" of Beer in Cans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 28, 2016, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-truth-about-the-benefits-of-beer-in-cans/764287 "2016-08-28T15:22:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-truth-about-the-benefits-of-beer-in-cans/764287/41 "2016-09-01T14:23:18Z")
I prefer cans. My glass recycling box will only hold 20-30 bottles whereas my general recycling bin could hold hundreds of cans! I’ll second what **MrSquishy** said, if you can’t smell it you’re not getting the full taste. Use a glass when possible. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-truth-about-the-benefits-of-beer-in-cans/764287/42 "2016-09-01T14:49:17Z")
> [@casdave](#): > > UK beer is not intended to be drunk ice cold, just chilled That’s because Lucas makes your refrigerators. 😛 I knew I guy who liked ‘beer cans with benefits’. He cut himself very badly. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-truth-about-the-benefits-of-beer-in-cans/764287/43 "2016-09-01T16:53:51Z")
Former brewery Quality Assurance Manager checking in. The main enemy of packaged beer isn’t light, it’s oxygen. Oxygen causes oxidation, it doesn’t taste good and it gets worse over time. Purging bottles of air before, during, and after filling is less effective at removing oxygen than the canning process. I’ve run the tests on dissolved oxygen levels and cans beat bottles every time. The fact that cans also keep out 100% of beer’s second enemy, light, makes them even more attractive from a quality standpoint. ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-truth-about-the-benefits-of-beer-in-cans/764287/44 "2016-09-01T18:02:36Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > The main benefit of beer in cans is that it’s legal to carry it on Missouri streams, where glass containers are prohibited. The secondary benefit is that cans are easier to stack in a cooler than bottles. Most event venues (concerts, sports, conventions) will not serve beer in glass bottles because they don’t want the liability of broken glass. There’s some serious money to be made in those venues. And people will buy them. For $11 (I’m looking at you, Formula One racing). ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-truth-about-the-benefits-of-beer-in-cans/764287/45 "2016-09-01T20:02:20Z")
For that subset of beer drinkers who smash the empties on their forehead - bottles are too painful. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-truth-about-the-benefits-of-beer-in-cans/764287/46 "2016-09-02T02:14:24Z")
> [@PoppaSan](#): > > Cans have the advantage of being able to be opened one-handed so I can keep the other hand on the steering wheel. Meanwhile bottles, once opened, can be tilted up between the eyes so I can still keep both eyes on the road while drinking. Cans block one eye. Cans also can be chucked out the window without causing potential damage to other car wheels or windshields. ``` Yeah, not funny at all, but thanks. ``` ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-truth-about-the-benefits-of-beer-in-cans/764287/47 "2016-09-02T06:58:44Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > Yeah, not funny at all, but thanks. Funny to me, and everyone I know. But thanks, you make this MB awesome, or something… ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-truth-about-the-benefits-of-beer-in-cans/764287/48 "2016-09-02T21:18:24Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > Funny to me, and everyone I know. But thanks, you make this MB awesome, or something… Meh… come back when you’ve lost someone to a drunk driver and tell us how awesome it is, or something… ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-truth-about-the-benefits-of-beer-in-cans/764287/49 "2016-09-03T03:56:14Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > Former brewery Quality Assurance Manager checking in. > > The main enemy of packaged beer isn’t light, it’s oxygen. Oxygen causes oxidation, it doesn’t taste good and it gets worse over time. Purging bottles of air before, during, and after filling is less effective at removing oxygen than the canning process. > > I’ve run the tests on dissolved oxygen levels and cans beat bottles every time. The fact that cans also keep out 100% of beer’s second enemy, light, makes them even more attractive from a quality standpoint. This is an excellent answer but I still prefer drinking out of a bottle than a can if not in a glass. Main driver of can vs bottle is if the beer I am buying is packaged one way or the other. Most do bottles. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-truth-about-the-benefits-of-beer-in-cans/764287/50 "2016-09-03T06:08:25Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > Meh… come back when you’ve lost someone to a drunk driver and tell us how awesome it is, or something… You win , no jokes ever again. Nothing is ever funny. Someone died. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-truth-about-the-benefits-of-beer-in-cans/764287/51 "2016-09-03T12:23:21Z")
Aren’t we in GQ? ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-truth-about-the-benefits-of-beer-in-cans/764287/52 "2016-09-03T14:36:25Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > Aren’t we in GQ? Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-truth-about-the-benefits-of-beer-in-cans/764287/53 "2016-09-03T15:10:28Z")
And the GQ aspect has been answered moderately well. The UV issue seems to be of theoretical relevance but reality is that amber glass (which filters UV light pretty damn well), the cardboard box, being stacked behind other cases and inside crates, and only indoor lighting exposure, non-intense at that, makes it a fairly bullshit claim. The oxygen issue seems to be more plausible. It likely matters how long it is being stored and what type of beer. Some are meant to have some oxidation (see “old ales”). For most others I highly doubt too many are keeping their beers around long enough for it be a major issue even to the most discriminating taste palate, which I highly doubt many who post here have. Aesthetics matter to some also. Looking for blinded taste tests I find mixed results. Which tastes better is a matter of YMMV. Cans vs bottles seems to be more of hipster pretentious posturing than any real impact. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-truth-about-the-benefits-of-beer-in-cans/764287/54 "2016-09-03T16:03:10Z")
**Moderator Note** I’m not going to bother quoting all of the off-topic posts here, but it should be pretty obvious. This is in GQ, so let’s stick to the factual aspects of the topic, please. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-truth-about-the-benefits-of-beer-in-cans/764287/55 "2016-09-03T17:57:01Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > The best packaging for keeping your beer colder longer would be plastic. Many European and Asian beer bottlers have switched to plastic bottles. The carbonated soft drink industry fully switched decades ago. The reason is that plastic is a much better insulator than glass or aluminum. Also less weight and breakage. > > The North American beer industry conducted several studies about 10 years ago, once the costs of plastic bottles was similar to glass. They found that, yes that beer does stay colder significantly longer in a plastic container. However, consumer preference was for glass and aluminum because when the container touched the lips of the consumer, they felt the that glass and beer containers were colder, despite the liquid inside being warmer. Perception beats reality. When it comes to consumer preferences perception is reality. ---
**Author:** ![Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emtar_KronJonDerSohn)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-truth-about-the-benefits-of-beer-in-cans/764287/56 "2016-09-03T18:02:46Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Only if the outside of your can was highly reflective. They usually are, but that’s not insulation it’s low emissivity. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-truth-about-the-benefits-of-beer-in-cans/764287/57 "2016-09-03T18:14:07Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > And the GQ aspect has been answered moderately well. > > The UV issue seems to be of theoretical relevance but reality is that amber glass (which filters UV light pretty damn well), the cardboard box, being stacked behind other cases and inside crates, and only indoor lighting exposure, non-intense at that, makes it a fairly bullshit claim. You are _partially_ right, if that’s where the beer was consumed - in the store or bar. But it isn’t. The beer gets treated abysmally by the consumer, who then blames the brewer for the skunkiness, etc. Amber glass is good, but there are numerous beers packaged in green bottles. On a sunny day at the beach those beers can skunk _in your hand_\*. We won’t even mention Corona, which I swear is _brewed_ skunked. 😛 - - Unless you drink them properly, which is in one big gulp! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-truth-about-the-benefits-of-beer-in-cans/764287.md?page=2)