Ossett Brewery has shifted its premium bottled ale range into cans, as the Yorkshire brewer looks to mitigate the “significant cost burden” placed on glass by the government’s extended producer responsibility scheme.
Brews including White Rat, Ossett Blonde, Silver King, Butterley and Excelsius have moved from glass to aluminium, in a move Ossett said would help it “adapt to changing consumer preferences and meet sustainability demands”.
The ales are stocked in off-trade outlets including Asda, Morrisons, Co-op, Booths and Nisa.
The change was driven both by a desire to improve beer quality and ensure price competitiveness following the introduction of EPR fees, Ossett said.
“Moving to can had been on the radar for a while,” said Ossett Brewery MD Edd Simpson. “As a brand we strive to put quality on a pedestal, and with the significant cost burden EPR has put on the use of glass, it gave us the final push needed to say now is the time.”
Ossett Brewery production director Matt Howgate added: “Cans ensure no light or oxygen can get to the liquid during storage, keeping it as fresh as a keg would, while also being more friendly to our planet and reducing our carbon footprint.”
The cost savings from moving into cans had given Ossett a competitive edge, the brewery claimed. A 500ml can of its White Rat ale currently had an rsp of £2.20, compared to around £2.50 for comparable products in glass bottles, it said.
Ossett is not the first to make the switch to cans following the introduction of EPR fees, that see suppliers charged £192 per tonne of glass they use to package their goods.
In January, Cornish cidermaker Healeys revealed it was to can its Rattler Cyder for the first time, having purchased a new canning line to offset a £700k EPR bill.
Unlike glass, aluminium drinks cans are exempt from EPR as they will fall under the scope of the deposit return scheme, set to kick off in 2027.
No comments yet