In a move marketed as a North American first, Surrey-based Central City Brewers + Distillers aims to “shake things up” in the beer business by shifting its entire core lineup of Red Racer products to larger 500ml “tall boy” cans while “maintaining traditional 355ml cans pricing.”
Starting in June across B.C., the company’s Red Racer IPA, Session IPA, Pils, Northwest Pale Ale and other products will be packaged in 500ml cans, with a cross-Canada rollout planned later this year.
The move, which involves both six- and 12-can packages, was announced Tuesday morning (May 29) at Central City’s Beatty Street Brewpub in Vancouver.
“We are making this sizable move to shake things up,” stated Darryll Frost, brewery president and founder. “We built the Central City brewery to be as efficient as possible in order to offer great value to consumers while producing high quality, premium craft beer. This is our way of thanking our customers for the 15 years of brand loyalty as well as introducing our Red Racer brand to new beer fans.”
The company also revealed an update to Red Racer branding.
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Central City plans to have all Red Racer beers sold exclusively in 500ml cans before 2019.
“This is an opportunity to turn things upside down,” stated Dustan Sept, Central City’s marketing director. “In shifting to a larger format can, we took the opportunity to take what we love about the Red Racer brand image and update to a more modern, impactful design. The change helps ensure that Red Racer remains the standout craft beer on B.C. liquor store shelves.”
Founded in 2003 as a brewpub at Central City Shopping Centre, the brewer operates a 68,000-square-foot facility on Bridgeview Drive in Surrey.
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tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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