BROOMFIELD, Colo., March 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- American craft beer brewer Churchkey Can Co. is bringing back a package long associated with Americana with the launch of Churchkey's handcrafted Pilsner-style beer in a three-piece, flat top steel can from Ball Corporation [NYSE: BLL].

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120327/LA76922)

"It's about the joy of drinking good beer – from the people you drink it with, to where you drink it, and with this unique package, how you open it," said Justin Hawkins, Churchkey's co-founder and creative director. "We didn't make these traditions, but are keeping them alive with Churchkey."

The can harkens back to the day of the original flat top steel beer cans, invented in the mid-1930s, when small metal openers called "church keys" were used to open cans. Made of 100-percent recyclable steel, the package combines all the beer-friendly benefits of a metal can with a tip of the hat to the past.

"Increasingly, beer drinkers are learning that cracking open a craft beer in a Ball can – whether in an aluminum or steel can – is like tapping a fresh keg ... you get exactly what you expected," said Gary Woeste, vice president, sales and marketing, for Ball's metal food and household products packaging division, Americas. "With the can's many advantages, including freshness, portability, high recycling rates, brand building graphics and beneficial economics to name just a few, craft brewers and consumers continue to choose cans."

Can Facts

• Cans are a sustainability success story and the number one recycled beverage container of any kind in the United States. Steel cans have the highest recycling rate of any food package at 66 percent while aluminum cans enjoy the highest recycling of any beverage packaging at 58.7 percent. Both steel and aluminum cans are infinitely recyclable and require less fuel to ship to the brewery and to retail outlets after being filled.
• Cans are good for beer. Ball's cans are impenetrable to light and oxygen and chill faster than bottles, resulting in fresher, better tasting beer.
• Cans have superior portability. Cans go where glass cannot. Cans are better-accepted in most environments because they don't shatter.
• Cans offer a 360-degree mini billboard for a company to establish their brand and to build their brand message upon.

About Churchkey Can Company

Co-founded by Portland-native Justin Hawkins and actor Adrian Grenier, Churchkey Can Company began with a singular focus: produce a great beer in a simple can similar to what generations before had experienced. Their Northwest-brewed Pilsner-style craft beer is a recipe originated by Portland-based home brewers Lucas Jones and Sean Burke and uses only the highest quality ingredients.  The beer features a Saaz hop taste and aroma, making Churchkey Pilsner a uniquely complex, yet seasonable beer at 4.9 percent ABV and a 29 IBU. The beer is available beginning April 15 at better beer retailers around the Pacific Northwest in 12 ounce flat top steel cans and in six packs with a complimentary churchkey. For a full list of bars, restaurants and retailers carrying Churchkey cans, visit www.ChurchkeyCanCo.com (launching April 1).

About Ball Corporation

Ball Corporation is a supplier of high quality packaging for beverage, food and household products customers, and of aerospace and other technologies and services, primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ more than 14,500 people worldwide and reported 2011 sales of more than $8.6 billion. For the latest Ball news and for other company information, please visit http://www.ball.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains "forward-looking" statements concerning future events and financial performance. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "estimates" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Key risks and uncertainties are summarized in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Exhibit 99.2 in our Form 10-K, which are available on our website and at www.sec.gov. Factors that might affect our packaging segments include fluctuation in product demand and preferences; availability and cost of raw materials; competitive packaging availability, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather; crop yields; competitive activity; failure to achieve anticipated productivity improvements or production cost reductions; mandatory deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; changes in major customer or supplier contracts or loss of a major customer or supplier; political instability and sanctions; and changes in foreign exchange rates or tax rates. Factors that might affect our aerospace segment include: funding, authorization, availability and returns of government and commercial contracts; and delays, extensions and technical uncertainties affecting segment contracts. Factors that might affect the company as a whole include those listed plus: accounting changes; changes in senior management; the recent global recession and its effects on liquidity, credit risk, asset values and the economy; successful or unsuccessful acquisitions; regulatory action or laws including tax, environmental, health and workplace safety, including U.S. FDA and other actions affecting products filled in our containers, or chemicals or substances used in raw materials or in the manufacturing process; governmental investigations; technological developments and innovations; goodwill impairment; antitrust, patent and other litigation; strikes; labor cost changes; rates of return projected and earned on assets of the company's defined benefit retirement plans; pension changes; uncertainties surrounding the U.S. government budget and debt limit; reduced cash flow; interest rates affecting our debt; and changes to unaudited results due to statutory audits or other effects.

SOURCE Ball Corporation