Richard... I know what you mean, I thought the same thing at first, but the more I research small scale canning lines and how many craft breweries are moving in that direction, the more I see it as a postive option. I had not planned to sell my beer in stores originally because of bottling costs, but there are some small scale canning systems that may make it possible. It would be cool to experiment with some "can conditioned" beers.
All that said, I have a romantic vision of bottle conditioned Belgian/Sour beers.