Photo courtesy of 3 Stars’ Facebook page.
By DCist Contributor Jacob Dean
3 Stars Brewing Company (6400 Chillum Place NW) has been home to some of the District’s most inventive brews since they first launched in August of 2012. While the beer was once only available on tap (and was delivered by hand to account holders by its two founders, president Dave Coleman and CEO/head brewer Mike McGarvey), 3 Stars is now widely distributed in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia in 750ml bottles. Now, for the first time, it can be purchased in 4-packs of 1-pint tallboy cans.
The canning is made possible by a partnership with River City Cannery, a fully mobile cannery that operates out of a box truck. According to Dave Coleman, this arrangement allows the brewery to can without the need for an expensive up-front investment in equipment. “They fill cans for us so we don’t have to invest the capital in buying a canning line off the starting gate. We can do this for a few months and then hopefully generate the infrastructure and revenue basis to warrant buying a canning line,” Coleman says.
In a day, they’ll can 30 barrels of Citra Lemon Saison and 30 barrels of Ghost White IPA, according to Coleman. It’s a surprisingly time-effective process, particularly considering the amount of beer being prepared for store shelves. In consumer terms, that volume is equal to 620 cases of beer, which breaks down to 3,720 4-packs, or roughly 15,000 cans.
The choice to can was not one taken lightly. The process is expensive, more so than if 3 Stars were to own and operate their own canning line. Coleman also expressed distaste for the negative impact that strip mining bauxite (unprocessed aluminum) can have on the environment. This is a factor I’ve heard him speak about a number of times in the past, and about which he remains passionate. (Full disclosure: I have a membership in 3 Stars’ Illuminati Reserve Society beer club.)
Despite reservations, canning makes sense for their business, and the additional format represents a leap forward for their beers’ portability and wider availability for purchase. “The can format I think just reaches a broader market, it makes it appropriate for bringing to the pool, you can take it on the golf course, you can drink it just about anywhere”, says Coleman. The cans also make it easier for consumers who might not want to drink an entire 750ml bottle in one sitting, and are more shelf-friendly for local stores and can-centric bars.
The tallboys have already proven to be a winning format, and with one canning run under their belt and another coming up in less than 2 weeks, 3 Stars plans on canning twice-monthly for the foreseeable future. They released the first cans at the brewery on June 25th and elsewhere on June 30th, and they’re almost sold out. “They sold an entire batch in basically a week”, says Coleman.
Currently, two beers are available in cans: Citra Lemon Saison, a farmhouse beer brewed with fresh lemon peel with 5.2% ABV, and Ghost White IPA, a white India Pale Ale with 5.9% ABV. Coleman stated that the brewery is also considering canning Two to the Dome, a double IPA (DIPA) with 8% ABV, Above the Clouds, a farmhouse pale ale with 6.3% ABV, and Cognitive Dissonance, a Berliner Weisse with 3.6% ABV.
4-packs of cans retail for $10.99 and can be found at various retailers around D.C., including the following locations:
- Whole Foods Market (1440 P Street NW)
- Whole Foods Market (2201 I Street NW)
- Whole Foods Market (2323 Wisconsin Ave NW)
- Whole Foods Market (4500 Wisconsin Ave NW)
- Connecticut Avenue Wine & Liquors (1529 Connecticut Ave NW)
- Cairo Wine & Liquor (1618 17th Street NW)
- Schneider’s of Capitol Hill (300 Massachusetts Ave NW)
- Cleveland Park Liquor & Fine Wines (3423 Connecticut Ave NW)
