Craft beer marketing idea of the week: Can festivals from Sly Fox, Sun King

The can has captured the craft beer drinker’s imagination with bold graphics and portability, and breweries most known for packaging their beer this way are wise to celebrate and tout its virtues with a party. Here are two such beer can related events coming up next month that we feel are worthy entrants into our prestigious and very scientific series The Craft Beer Marketing Idea of the Week.*

Sun King’s CANvitational

Really, this is THE annual canned beer celebration. The 5th annual Sun King CANvitational will return to downtown Indianapolis September 9 and showcase more than 65 craft breweries from across America that can their beers.

Award-winning breweries will offer samples of craft beer, and patrons can enjoy local food trucks and music, all in an urban downtown atmosphere with 100 percent of the event proceeds benefitting central Indiana not-for-profits.

Sly Fox Brewing’s Can Jam

Maybe not as well known, and less focused on the culture of cans than the CANvitational, we might be slightly more interested in Sly Fox Brewing’s annual blow-out Can Jam Festival, if only because we are suckers for gimmicky yard games. Along with live music from top indie artists, Sly Fox is hosting the world’s largest KanJam tournament at the festival — in which, 160 teams will compete to win their weight in beer.

• Object of the KanJam: Partners stand at opposite goals, or garbage cans, and alternate throwing and deflecting disks. One partner tosses the flying disk and the other partner redirects it toward the goal.

• Flow of the Game: After both partners complete one throw each, the flying disk is passed to the opposing team. The game continues alternating team turns until an exact score of 21 is reached.

• Scoring the Game: A Dinger, or Redirected Hit, is worth 1 point; Deuce, or Direct Hit, is worth 2 points; Bucket, or Slam Dunk, is worth 3 points. An Instant Win ends the game and occurs when a thrower lands the flying disk inside the goal, unassisted by partner.

• Overtime Rules: In the event of a tie game, each team completes one round of throws and the team with the most points wins. Overtime rounds continue until the tie is broken.

*  Whenever we feel like it, really.