Borderlands Brewing Co. will start canning its signature Noche Dulce Moonlight Vanilla Porter beer.
On Sept. 21, owners Mike Mallozzi and Myles Stone will oversee the tall order of filling 10,000 cans. They are working with Mobile West Canning out of San Diego, which will bring in the equipment. Mobile West works with craft brewers around the West Coast to get their beers to bigger markets.
The beer could be available in stores throughout Tucson, Phoenix and Flagstaff as soon as early October, Mallozzi said.
The move to canned beer came a bit faster than Mallozzi or Stone had envisioned when they opened Borderlands in late 2011.
βBut we had this opportunity and itβs a huge growth market,β he said, noting that sales figures nationwide and national marketing surveys show that most consumers prefer packaged beer over draft.
Meanwhile Mallozzi said the breweryβs growler business continues to boom. Last week, they ran out of growlers and had to get unmarked ones from a brewery supplier.
Mallozzi said they decided to start canning Noche Dulce because itβs one of βour signature beers and one of our most popular.β The beer is made with Mexican vanilla, which he described as more flavorful and complex than traditional vanilla.
Borderlands is the second Tucson microbrewery to can its beer. Last summer, Barrio Brewing Co. started canning its Tucson Blonde. It has since begun canning Barrio Blanco white IPA and Barrio Rojo Scottish ale.
