Putting a high-quality beer in a can used to be heresy among craft brewers. Some still feel that way.
Lately, however, a handful of breweries around the country have broken with tradition and started putting complex, pricey brews in cans. A few of these high-end products -- three canned brews from Colorado's Oskar Blues Brewery, at $7.50 a package and up -- have arrived in Maryland just in time for warm weather. Pilsner Urquell, a well-regarded lager brewed in Europe, also recently began appearing in local stores clad in a can, and costing about $6 a four-pack.
PILSNER URQUELL
Brewer: Pilsner Urquell Brewery, Czech Republic
Price: $6 for four 16-ounce cans.
Comments: A successful job of putting this long-favored pilsener into a can. Its signature "biscuity" aroma is there, as are its golden color, creamy head and bitter finish. The 16-ounce serving might be nap-inducing, but for summer snoozers this is an ideal poolside beverage.
WHERE TO FIND THEM
We found Oskar Blues and Pilsner Urquell canned beers in the premium-beer sections at Wells Discount Liquors and the Wine Source in Baltimore. For other sources, customers looking for Oskar Blues can call Legends Ltd. at 410-325-6611; for Pilsner Urquell, J.J. Legambi at 410-905-0954.