If your favorite beer isn’t in a can at this point, don’t fret. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before it gets the royal, aluminum treatment.

Craft beer went can about 5 years ago, and never looked back. Some companies, like Hop Butcher For The World, only package in cans, I’ve never seen their beer in a bottle.

Regardless, this blog post isn’t about the cans, it’s about what’s being printed on the bottom of them.

Most cans these days have some sort of message printed within, or after the date code. Everything from “Insert Funny Date Code Here,” to “RIP John Prine.” With each new beer, or can, there is also a new message or a continuation of another. Triptych Brewing out of Savoy, Illinois, has continued to expand on their Dank Meme series, with hashtags that coincide with each release, #RlyDoinkMemes, or “WeedDank,” It’s just another fun way for brewers to create extra excitement with each fresh batch, and maybe even a social media buzz.

Now some messages are really easy to read, and printed clearly, while there are some that I could spend an hour trying to decipher. Like this one below. Just what does it say? “Incompetent” or “In competitive?” I don’t think either of those words is correct? Using the iPhone light and magnifier, I probably lost thirty minutes of my life, trying to crack the can code, it was all-consuming.

It’s become a game to me, to read the bottom of every beer can I drink, and then check that beer in on Untappd, with the correct hashtags, of course. It’s fun for social media purposes, but I’ve also become a completionist, kicking myself when I forget to check the bottom of a certain can. I feel a deep need to regurgitate that hashtag on every single beer check-in.

Chicago’s Hop Butcher and Maplewood Brewing both do a great job with this as well, constantly keeping fans on their toes, with each new hashtag. You can see in the pictures above just exactly what I’m talking about.

In closing, don’t forget to read the bottom of your beer can. There are a lot of interesting thoughts down there that you don’t want to miss. Some funny, some serious, but once you go down the rabbit hole of hashtags, there’s no going back.

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