that are just sitting there for most of the year.”
helping them get there.”
Of course, experience also factors into the discussion. Training and paying staff to operate a canning line may work for large macro-brewers, but for most craft brewers, keeping labor costs down is essential. Placing the onus of quality control on experienced canners on a pay-as- you-go basis, as well as not having to deal with equipment maintenance and repairs, makes financial sense for many small brewers. More importantly, it allows them to focus their labor expenditures on brewing, serving and distrib- uting their products. Asking Marston about the craft beer industry in general, he figures the breaking point is different from region to region. “Some areas are up and some are down. For us, we’re noticing that the Mid-west is ramping up. Like Ohio and surrounding areas, they’re a little behind the wave of craft breweries that hit the Northeast a few years ago. So they’re busy areas.” Fear not for the future of Iron Heart Canning. Even if there is a shift or saturation point in the craft brewing market, Marston points out that service diversification is the key. “We are not going to be a one-trick pony and just can beer. We also can craft ciders, and a few cold-brew coffees. Also in the plans this year are canned wine and cocktails, with wine potentially being the next canning revolution. Some wineries are looking at getting ahead of this trend so we’re
Always ahead of the curve themselves when it comes to research, innovation and quality control, Marston doesn’t want Iron Heart to bite off more than they can chew in the short term. “We are going to focus on providing contin- ued quality service in the areas we are currently in. I can’t see us expanding west of the Mississippi in the next few years… but I could be totally wrong! We could add some more support and then suddenly the west is a good idea. We have a great model that works, so who knows!”
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