Montauk Brewing Will Soon Debut Cans

Montauk Brewing Company, whose beer has up until now only been available to consumers by the draft or by the growler, will soon bring cans to market.

Canning will begin late next week, founder and brewer Vaughan Cutillo said Monday. He expects the Montauk Driftwood Ale cans will hit shelves mid-March.

“It’s exciting for us,” Cutillo said. “It’s our first packaged product other than draft kegs.”

The brewing company is working with Boening Brothers in Lindenhurst to get the cans into grocery and convenience stores and beer distributors from as far east as Montauk and as far west as Bell Boulevard in Queens. Cutillo said they will also begin distributing at restaurants that don’t offer tap beer.

Cutillo and brewmaster/co-owner Eric Moss just returned from Westminster, Massachusetts, where they brew the beer and where it will be canned. They have 150 barrels, or 4,650 gallons, of beer there brewing now. That will amount to more than 4,000 six-packs of their Driftwood Ale. The pricing will be competitive with other craft beers, about $9 or $10 for a six-pack, Cutillo said.

Montauk Brewing Company has a taproom in Montauk that opened in 2012 and a local brewery is currently under construction, anticipated to open by late fall 2014 or winter 2015. Cutillo said they plan to look into options for canning on site once the brewery is done, though cans will not be sold at the taproom.

They opted for cans over bottles for a number of reasons. Canned beer stays fresh on shelves longer because no light and UV rays get through, unlike bottles, Cutillo said. Cans also have a “fun factor” and are tailored to the East End environment, he said—people prefer to bring cans, rather than glass, to the beach or on boats.

Distribution to New York City may begin this fall, just as Hamptons seasonal residents and visitors are returning home, Cutillo said. But for now, “We really want to focus on our backyard, our home base on Long Island.”