After years as a draft-only brewery, Waterloo, Iowa’s SingleSpeed Brewing has dramatically increased its speed of growth thanks to cans and Cask equipment. “Adding cans to our line-up,” says founder Dave Morgan, “has more than doubled our production level.  It is the first extension we’ve done in an off-premise setting and the consumer response was immediate.”

One year into its canning effort with a Cask ACS V5, roughly 60% of the brewery’s beer is now sold in cans. The brewery’s year-round beers and seasonal offerings (in 12-ounce cans) are available across Iowa, and SingleSpeed will soon be adding tap-room-only canned goods.

“The addition of a PakLeader labeler,” Morgan notes, “has allowed us to go from six annual styles to 21. We’re also excited to bring 16-oz cans online soon, something that’s simple to do with our canning line.”

The company’s concerns for sustainability and market trends led to its adoption of the mighty can.  “We saw the direction the market was going,” Morgan says. “The consumer was not just opening up to the concept of craft beer in a can, they were showing a preference for it.”

The SingleSpeed beer list stretches from classic lagers and American IPAs to kettle sours, hazy IPAs and hybrid styles. The brewing team — led by Austin Myers — creates its liquid art on a solar-powered brewhouse that’s located in a repurposed Wonder Bread bakery that earned LEED Certification Gold status in 2017.

For brewers considering cans and a canning system, Morgan has advice. “Take a look at any equipment manufacturer that could be a fit for your brewery,” he says,” but certainly talk to the folks at Cask when preparing a final decision.  That’s what we did and to us the decision was clear: Cask was the best choice.”

With his cans cranking along, Morgan and his team are now working extra hard to stay true to their one-gear brewery name. “We just pedal more these days,” Morgan says with a laugh.