Rocket Republic

Rocket Republic will offer canned beer for the first time in late April. (Courtesy photo)

Rocket Republic customers will be able to take home the Madison brewery's canned beer for the first time this spring.

Head brewer Eric Crigger said the company's 12-ounce cans of Astronut Brown Ale and Vapor Trail Cream Ale will launch this month. Rocket Republic's bestselling beer -- Mach 1 IPA -- will be available in cans later this year.

Crigger said canning has been on their road map since day one.

"If you've followed our brewery since the beginning, you'll know we intended to be in cans or bottles from the beginning," he said. "We've always preferred organic, and most importantly, controlled growth. All four owners, John and Lynn Troy, (my wife) Tatum and myself felt the timing was right and getting our beer into cans definitely marks a positive milestone in the history of our business and begins a new chapter for Rocket Republic."

Canning line

Rocket Republic recently celebrated one year in business at its 10,000-square-foot brewery and taproom on 289 Production Ave. near Fedex in Putman Industrial Park. The small business entered the local market in September 2013 as a contract brewer with Blue Pants Brewery in Madison.

Using Rocket Republic's equipment and recipes, Blue Pants brewed the beer, allowing Rocket Republic to sell and distribute the products to bars, restaurants and stores throughout the area.

Rather than invest in a pricey automated canning line and depalletizer, Crigger said they hired a mobile canning company to kickstart the process.

"We brew the beer and schedule a visit," he said. "They set up their equipment, fill our cans with our beer and leave. It does add some cost to the final product but allows us the flexibility to get packaged product into the market much faster without the investment of a canning line ... for now."

Can design

Each can mirrors the brewery's steampunk and space theme. Crigger's wife worked with local graphic artist Tina Turner to put the designs into Adobe Illustrator and on a template for the can manufacturer.

He said the designs have color gradients and fine details that would not have been easily reproduced on a standard printed can.

"We opted for a digital printing method that more accurately reproduces the original design of each can," Crigger said. "Each can costs us about three times the amount of a normal printed can but we felt it was important since these cans could possibly be the first impression of our brewery to a lot of people."

Rocket Republic will keep the canning line close to home initially but plans to distribute the cans to every corner of the state over time.

Crigger said the cans will allow Rocket Republic to move across state lines "much easier than before."

Growler bill

"A large concern of all craft brewers is the turnaround of kegs," he said. "When you're sending a finite supply of kegs out of state, it might take 6-12 months to get them back. Obviously, packaged beer isn't subject to the return requirement so it unties your hands and makes it much easier to provide beer to markets farther away."

Gov. Robert Bentley recently signed House Bill 176, which will allow breweries that make less than 60,000 barrels per year to sell up to 288 ounces of its beer per customer per day for off-premise consumption. The law should go into effect June 1.

Crigger said the passage of the growler bill makes Rocket Republic's new canning line that much more important.

"Being close to Huntsville International Airport, we get a lot of out of town travelers," he said. "Now these travelers will be able to not only stop in for a pint, but take a six-pack on their flight back home. And, of course, all of our local customers have the option to do the same."