The federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) gave a belated holiday gift to winemakers and cidermakers on December 29: three new permitted packaging sizes under the bureau’s standards of fill for products stronger than 7% ABV.
“The amendments described in this final rule will provide bottlers with flexibility by allowing the use of the added container sizes, and will facilitate the movement of goods in domestic and international commerce, while also providing consumers broader purchasing options,” the TTB wrote in a document added to the Federal Register.
New standards of fill for wine, in which the TTB includes cider, allow producers to package their beverages in the following container sizes:
- 355 mL, roughly 12 oz.;
- 250 mL, roughly 8.45 oz.;
- 200 mL, roughly 6.76 oz.
The change was a priority — and a huge win — for the American Cider Association (ACA), which campaigned for the addition of new sizes alongside its members.
Context: Before this change, ciders stronger than 7% ABV could only be sold in certain packaging sizes, Yonder Cider and the Source Cider founder and president Caitlin Braam told Brewbound.
“By allowing these smaller format sizes, cidermakers will have so much more flexibility in their packaging, while being able to choose the right package for the right cider,” Braam said. “For example, there are so many lovely higher ABV or imperial ciders on the market, but you don’t always want to open a 750 mL of one.”
What This Means for Cidermakers: ACA executive director Michelle McGrath called the additional packaging options “huge for the cider industry.”
“Cider is a packaging chameleon. In general, cider doesn’t have an iconic packaging and for the most part, packaging doesn’t signal a lot about style or approach,” McGrath explained. “There are advantages to that, but not being able to utilize 12 oz. bottles or cans wasn’t allowing cider to serve consumers who prefer those.”
For cidermakers who opted to can their 7% ABV or stronger products before the change, 375 mL cans (roughly 12.68 oz.) were the only option.
“They are expensive and, in a normal year, challenging to source,” McGrath said.
With three new packaging size options, cidermakers are no longer hindered by the 7% ABV demarcation line and will not have to retrofit their finished product to meet federal requirements.
“At [business-to-business contract cider producer] The Source Cider, we single varietal ferment all of our apples. Many of them contain higher sugar content, meaning very often they are naturally coming in over 7% ABV once fermented,” Braam said. “By allowing these new package sizes for higher ABV ciders, our clients will be able to showcase the true beauty of these apples without having to ‘water them down’ in some way to fit narrow packaging requirements.”
Cider’s agricultural nature makes it difficult for producers to hit the 7% ABV target, which makes it difficult to plan for and procure packaging.
“Many producers specializing in harvest-driven ciders — ciders made once a year from fruit that is picked and pressed close to their seasonally peak ripeness to showcase an apple’s characteristics — find that their cider’s ABV will fluctuate not only between apple varieties and field blends but between seasons and orchards,” McGrath said. “Giving harvest-driven cidermakers another tool for increasing the accessibility of their product is a big win.”
Although the TTB categorizes cider as a wine, wholesalers and retailers ship, stock and sell it like beer. However, malt beverage brewers don’t have the same standards of fill requirements.
“In many ways, the addition of more container sizes specifically helps cidermakers by evening the playing field with malt beverages,” McDermott, Will & Emery counsel Nichole Shustack said. “Cider, from an alcohol content and marketing perspective, is arguably more like a beer than a wine, and this change is a small step in allowing cidermakers to provide greater consumer choice options equal to their brewer counterparts.”
The TTB was considering eliminating standards of fill for winemakers and distillers entirely, but instead opted to add three new sizes.
“While a complete elimination for the standard of fill for wine and distilled spirits would have a greater impact on encouraging innovation in this space, this is certainly a step in the right direction,” Shustack said.
While brewers don’t face container limitations at the federal level, some states enforce them. The restrictions are often based on ABV and usually affect channel distribution, such as 3.2 laws, which have been eliminated in almost all states.
What It Means for Consumers: Drinkers have shown strong preference for cans, which accounted for 65% of all beer category volume (including cider) sales to retailers between Weeks 21 and 50 in 2020, according to data from wholesaler data firm Fintech. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the shutdown of on-premise establishments nationwide, effectively canceling draft service between Weeks 12 and 20, most of the 8% of volume that kegs normally account for went to cans. Bottles only gained 1% share in that time.
In 2020, the cider segment’s share held steady at 0.8% of beer category sales, according to Fintech. With new package options available to them in 2021, cidermakers can introduce their product to new consumers in a format beer drinkers already know and like.
New package options may also bring new product options, Braam said.
“Right now, consumers are looking for anything new and exciting, and this change could be two-fold for the industry,” she said. “It provides cideries who focus on ciders made only with cider fruit a chance to reach a new audience with a smaller, more price conscious package format, while at the same time open up style opportunities for cideries who have always been in 12 oz. cans.”
Can Shortage: The addition of new package sizes for certain ciders comes with a caveat: Cans are hard to procure.
The shift in consumer behavior during the pandemic — drinks and meals consumed at home instead of bars and restaurants — paired with the popularity of cans, especially in the hard seltzer segment, has created a shortage of aluminum cans expected to last years.
Ball Corporation, the world’s biggest supplier of aluminum cans, has added new plants and production lines to existing plants, but still estimated it was short by 10 billion cans.
Cidermakers will need to compete for cans against winemakers, brewers and non-alcoholic beverage producers, many of whom have long-term contracts with can manufacturers that already claim future supply.