Retro ChurchKey Cans Are Back

Retro-styled ChurchKey Can Co. returns to the market after a 2 year absence. ChurchKey cans had their 7 and a half minutes of fame back in 2012 before being pulled from the market due to exploding cans. Before that the brand had achieved some buzz and cans were moving briskly from store shelves. ChurchKey Can Co. is a brand based around retro flat top cans that need a church key opener, much like your grandfather's beer did. With the return of ChurchKey cans, the question is, does anyone care anymore?

ChurchKey cans were always a lame hipster gimmick, even if the Pilsner they contained was pretty solid. For one thing, it was fronted by a Nike adman and former Entourage star and super hipster, Adrian Grenier. More importantly, though, the entire marketing premise negated one of the chief benefits of canning beer: the ease of opening. By requiring a metal can opener that came with each six pack, ChurchKey made the process more difficult and counter-intuitive. The well-designed six pack can carrier even had its own problems, trading substance for style with reports of dented and loose cans falling out of the box. Furthermore, craft lagers were a bit more unique in the far off time of 2012, but today nearly every brewery has its own take on the style. With many great affordable craft lagers on the market these days, and a number of them in cans, why bother with ChurchKey?

Call me a pessimist, but I always thought ChurchKey was a lame gimmick. The fact that it's an anonymous faceless brand, managed by a marketing company, not even a brewery, doesn't help. After the brand was pulled from the market a while back, I did some research and found out that it was brewed at 2 Beers Brewing in Seattle, though not owned by that company. This in and of itself does not a bad brand make, but the stench of a cash grab permeated, especially after cans started leaking and the beer was pulled from the market with nary a whisper, only a promise that it would be back soon. I thought we would not likely be seeing ChurchKey again; the brand's website and Facebook page has not been updated since 2012. But I was wrong. Still, as the saying goes, you're only hot once.

Will you be purchasing ChurchKey 6-packs from your local bottleshop when they roll out in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Alaska, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota over the next 6 months??

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