Core77

More Cannovation? '360 Lid' Beer Can Making the Rounds

By Rain Noe - April 23, 2013

in Object Culture

While Budweiser's new bowtie-shaped beer can is a couple of weeks away from launch, a series of smaller breweries have already launched another new type of can: One with a "360 Lid" that peels completely away, allowing tipplers to drink brew through a circular, drinking-glass-like aperture.

Here at the Core77 offices we rarely drink beer out of cans. (That's not snobbery; unlike bottles, cans cannot be broken against desks and wielded as weapons during editorial squabbles that devolve into melees.) But the few times we have, we've never had a problem getting beer to pour from the tab-sized opening into our gulping mouths. So why the new can? Pennsylvania-based licenser Sly Fox Brewing Company insists a circular opening "allows the full flavor and aroma of the beer to hit the drinker's senses." And yes, the drinking rim is rounded over, so you don't cut your lips with each swig.A single-serve beverage in a cylindrical container with an open top is nothing new to the Japanese; when I lived there in the '90s, you could buy Ozeki Sake One Cup from a vending machine.

It was essentially a glass jar with a resealable lid. Pop the top, and you're sipping booze out of a glass like a true gentleman.

So will the 360 Lid catch on in the 'States? Up next, we'll take a look at one prominent brewer that teamed up with none other than IDEO to find out.

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Tugger

11 years ago

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This isn't new.
Sapporo beer (Japan) had this in the 80s/90s. Sold all over the world.
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Mistry

11 years ago

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Oskar Blues should be paying attention. They make excellent beer and are proponents of cans. I could see the 360 lid going well with their brand.
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bob

11 years ago

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sounds like cat food when you open it
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Rob

11 years ago

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@Carly: I agree with that, but in addition, people really should not drink beer from a bottle or can, since the size of the hole reduces the aroma you smell, which can in many cases greatly alter the overall flavor of the beer, especially darker and/or heavier beers.

Once the beer is poured into a glass, your nose is in direct line of sight (or scent) of the beer. This is why I drink less and less "mass market" beers like Budweizer, because those are more meant to be drank ice cold, which reduces the (lack of) flavor and scent.

Something like Guinness, when I drink it straight from the bottle, is a bit too bitter, but once in a glass, the bitterness goes away and I am able to taste more of the complexity within it, simply because I am picking up the aroma as well.
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Carly

11 years ago

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OK so here's a bit of beer snobbery for you: this is a pretty silly idea 'cause beer in a can really should be poured into a glass before you drink it.

Cans are AWESOME for beer (more efficient shipping, totally keep UV light & oxygen out of your beer, way more portable and ok in boats, on picnics, on the beach, etc.) but the only way you'll get that gnarly metal taste is from putting the can to your lips.

Plus the pop top does seem like it would encourage more litter...
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rafael

11 years ago

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So following this concept, each time you open a beer can like that you need to think where to throw away the lid or put it in your pocket....If you are close to any trash bin OK, if not....big problem.
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James Patrick

11 years ago

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I like it. I guess the big top is too big to choke on?
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lark

11 years ago

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The return of the "pop top". Now big enough to cut all five toes at once when you step on one at the beach!
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