Equipment Upgrade Helps Good People Brewing Expand on SKUs

Adding a new can labeler has been a good business decision for Birmingham, Alabama’s Good People Brewing.

The upgrade to its equipment means lower volume production products, which usually were limited as draft-only releases will now be able to be added to the brewery’s distribution network in either 12-ounce cans or in 22-ounce bombers.

“It allows for flexibility of multiple lower production volume SKUs without having to compromise on packaging quality,” said Good People’s marketing director Lauren McCurdy. “This advancement will allow for products with smaller production volumes to be programmed for on and off premise.”

The oldest brewery in the state and the first to can in the “Deep South” made its decision at the annual Craft Brewers Conference in Philadelphia.

“We really liked the idea behind it,” McCurdy said. “It seemed to solve our problem of how to get limited and special releases into the off-premise channel.”

She added the setup was a “relatively smooth implementation.”

Good People Brewing runs two cask canners in tandem and the labeler sits between the canner and the paktek applicator and, for the most part, has been running smoothly.

“The labeler has the ability to run at different speeds so it’s never been a bottleneck,” she said.

The first beer to be packaged using the new labeler was the brewery’s “Urban Farmer” Farmhouse Ale. The cans became available with local Alabama distribution first. Additional limited and special small batch beer releases will be announced soon.

“Urban Farmer was not the catalyst for the labeler, but did influence the decision,” McCurdy said. “This farmhouse ale was a taproom-only release, but after gaining incredible traction, it was soon upgraded for market release. Once we saw some feedback in the market from draft numbers, we decided it was going to be the first beer to be packaged with the new labeler.”