‘Canny’ Awards Honor Best of Craft Beer Can Designs

Winners Receive Awards at Craft Brewers Conference

BROOMFIELD, Colo., May 4, 2012—The best can graphics in the craft beer industry were on display as part of the first annual “Canny” Awards, a competition that recognizes the high-quality, captivating graphics featured on craft beer in cans. Awards were presented during the Craft Brewers Conference, May 2-5 in San Diego, California.

21st Amendment's Bitter American was awarded "Craft Can of the Year"

During this inaugural competition, 83 craft breweries submitted 231 entries in seven categories. The "Craft Can of the Year Award" went to Bitter American Extra Pale Ale by 21st Amendment Brewery, with second place going to The Corruption IPA by DC Brau and third place to Johnny’s America IPA by Moab Brewery.

Category winning entries include:

Best Shelf Presence:
Johnny’s America IPA by Moab Brewery

Best Graphics Design:
Diesel by Sixpoint Craft Ales

Best Use of Color:
Pearl-Snap German-Style Pils by Austin Beerworks

Best Seasonal:
Santa Fe Oktoberfest by Santa Fe Brewing Co.

Best Character:
Bitter American Extra Pale Ale by 21st Amendment Brewery

 Best Illustration of Beer Name:
Hop-A-Potamus Double Dark Rye Pale Ale by Great River Brewery

Best Local Tie-In (State, Town, Geography, Local Activity):
Colorado Kolsch Ale by Steamworks Brewing Co.

The judges panel included: Donna DiGiola of The Art Institute of California-San Diego, Dr. Amy Galpin of The San Diego Museum of Art, Dave Mevoli of L. Knife & Sons, Randy Mosher of Randy Mosher Design, Tom McCormick of California Craft Brewers Association, Robert Fondren of Brewery Collectibles Club of America, Ginger Johnson of WomenEnjoyingBeer.com, Jay Brooks of Brooks On Beer, Ashley Routson of the Beer Wrench Blog, Evan Hughes of Draft Magazine, Chris Fumary and Matt Kennedy of Brewbound/BevNet, and Matt Thomas of Whole Foods.

The “Canny” Awards honor craft beer and the distinctive graphics created in an industry known for unique brands and brews. The competition is sponsored by four leading suppliers to the canned craft beer industry – Ball Corporation, Cask Brewing Systems, Hi-Cone and Mumm Products.

Winners received a custom Canny Award trophy that includes their can graphics and recognition at the Craft Brewers Conference and in industry publications. A complete set of listed winners is available on the “Canny Awards” Facebook page and Twitter.

Ball Corporation is a supplier of high quality packaging for beverage, food and household products customers, and of aerospace and other technologies and services, primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ more than 14,500 people worldwide and reported 2011 sales of more than $8.6 billion. For the latest Ball news and for other company information, please visit http://www.ball.com.

Cask Brewing Systems launched the canned craft beer revolution when it introduced affordable, small footprint, high-performance canning systems. Cask Brewing puts cans in the hands of craft brewers and their customers worldwide.

Hi-Cone is a leading supplier of plastic-based multipackaging systems for global beer, soft drink, pharmaceutical and general consumer products industries. Hi-Cone is a division of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW), a diversified manufacturer of advanced industrial technology.

Mumm Products is a leading supplier of beverage multi-pack packaging and equipment to craft brewers and retailers. Mumm offers tailored products for craft brewers in partnership with Hi-Cone. Mumm supplies low-weight photodegradable carriers to minimize environmental impact and highly efficient application equipment to save labor.