Colorado Beer Prices Rising Over Scramble for Aluminum Cans

There are many ripple effects from the pandemic. Habits changed. Supply chains were and are still severely debilitated. Many breweries had to start packaging their beers because taps were closed alongside restaurants and bars.

Colorado has more than 400 craft breweries, many of which rely on canning their product to sell it all over the state and country. Several of these breweries utilize the large company Ball Corp. which is based in Westminster.

In theory using a company like this, based in your own state should save money and time. That is until Ball announced it's boosting its minimum order to remedy their own supply issues due to overwhelming demand during the pandemic.

According to Forbes "their minimum order has increased fivefold when supply is available. That means that companies will have to raise their previous minimum order from 204,000 cans to 1,020,000. In perspective, they will need to pay for and store five semi-truck loads of cans, tying up much-needed cash and space that many businesses don't have."

Ball, yes, the company that used to only be the name printed on jars of home-canned pickles and peaches. Ball got out of the glass jar business in 1996 and really started focusing on aluminum products. They became the largest aluminum can producer in the US in 1998 after the acquisition of Reynolds Metals Co. Their headquarters was relocated to Colorado the same year.

If you're like me, you were unaware of Ball being anything but old glass jars until they bought the naming rights for the Pepsi Center in late 2020. We now watch basketball and concerts at Ball Arena in Denver.

Bottom line, stock up on your favorite beers, because in these situations the cost is usually passed onto the customer.