Bottles becoming passé?

I’ve seen DT in cans on here, but never in person.

 

While cans make more sense in numerous ways, I'll always be enamored by the bottle format. Love the vast possibilities of artistic expression regarding the size/type, design, labels, waxing, caps, etc.

 

No downside to cans! 16oz format (yes!), easier to transport than bottles, but most importantly 100% recyclable. It’s far easier to create an aluminum can from recycling rather than from virgin material. Glass is only better for the glass industry.

 

According to one source, only about 50% of aluminum cans in the US is recycled.
https://resource-recycling.com/recy...can-recycling-rate-increases-after-down-year/
Glass recycling is lower at about 33%.
https://cen.acs.org/materials/inorganic-chemistry/glass-recycling-US-broken/97/i6
The energy cost of producing virgin aluminum from alumina is certainly higher that production of virgin glass. Mining and shipping costs vary too. It isn't obvious that aluminum is overall better for the environment. It may depend on the effectiveness (or even existence) of locality's recycling programs and deposit rules. Large (quart or more), efficient multi-serve resealable glass containers can't be matched by large cans, which aren't easily recapped.

 

I’ve read that the energy that goes into producing aluminum is more than twice that of producing glass, and that doesn’t even include the energy that goes into getting the materials (ie, getting sand to a glassmaker vs mining bauxite in South America or Jamaica and shipping it to a smelter).

The energy differential is so significant that this leads to a twist: in the United States, most (if not all) aluminum is produced using hydropower. Glass needs less energy, so has a mixture of electricity sources (today, typically natural gas). As such, glass’ clear environmental advantage is cut somewhat when it comes to production emissions.

When it comes to imported aluminum, the difference is massive, in that Chinese-owned firms (in China and other locations throughout the word) are increasingly using coal-fired power plants for the energy in their smelters. (They’re able to afford this thanks to government subsidies and reduced labor costs thanks to government suppression of workers movements.).

The one other advantage of glass is that it is reusable. Reusable as bottles is largely (but not entirely) theoretical to anyone but homebrewers these days, but “recycled” glass is also often reused as fill.

 

I just bougt a case of PBR in bottles.

 

Yup, as a homebrewer I do indeed reuse my bottles.

As a Pennsylvanian you might be interested in knowing that Straub still uses returnable (reusable) bottles:

https://straubbeer.com/straub-returnable-bottles/

Cheers!

 

The 12oz bottle was the pinnacle of beer vessels. You can trace the rise and fall of the civilized world to its trajectory.

 

Nice! Was it a case box of four individual six-packs or a box with the dividers for each individual bottle? I think Leinie's Original is the only product I've seen in the Twin Cities that still uses the latter packaging.

 

I've never liked 22/25oz bottles for strong beers, though at least you can stopper a bottle to split strong beers over several hours, something you can't easily do with 25/32oz crowlers. It's really annoying when a brewery only offers popular beers in 22/25oz bottles, such as Surly BA Darkness. Deschutes Abyss is finally in 12oz bottles at least. I'll still get 32oz growlers, but at least they seal well, and fit well in the fridge.

As far as wax, I don't mind actual wax, but that plastic crap is dangerous to get off.

 

Due to (I’m assuming) the 12 oz. can shortage, Fat Head’s is using the 16 oz. can format for some of their releases. For their Hop Juju, an imperial IPA at 9%, that can be a bit much. However, Noble Beast Brewing Company switched their Union Pils from 6/12 to 4/16. I like the change for this one.
I am not aware (although I’m sure there is), of the price difference for either of these.

 

I was thinking about this the other day when I failed to look at the canning date and bought an old six pack. It made me think that, since BPA leaches into the beer from the lining of the can, it can't be good to have said beer sitting in the can for six months. For that reason, I think bottles might be better in the long run.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/208... detected in only,BPA in canned beer products.

 

If BPA is a health hazard in beer cans over 6 months old the FDA could come into every one of my local beer retailers and shut them down. There are plenty (too many) cans that are over a year old.

Cheers!

 

Back in the 70s, Iron City also used returnable bottles. These were long neck with thick glass. I stumbled across these in Cumberland, MD visiting my brother. Now, I know IC is not considered a great beer. But, I swear IC tasted better in these returnable bottles.

 

I miss 16oz returnable Pfeiffer's. A case was three bucks plus deposit. Drink three bottles and you would be ass-blasting for a week.

 

I prefer bottles but my wife doesn't want any glass around the lanai/pool area. So the outside fridge has cans, the kitchen fridge has bottles. My daughter did a paper a few years back on cans vs bottles and found that cans are actually "greener". She's a packaging engineer for what that's worth. Right now I'm drinking a home brewed chocolate milk stout out of my kegerator which tastes just fine poolside in a plastic cup. "Greener" than cans or bottles I bet.

 

Expansion is an issue. I think returnables only work at the local level. My company is working in a pilot program with a company trying to take the concept national, mainly thru e-commerce and limited retail outlets. It does entail all of the supporting infrastructure you describe and it is a quality and food safety nightmare. Between the hefty deposit and the relatively higher price of the product this idea will only have limited appeal - wallet impact seems a significant barrier. Plus, the containers are made in India then are shipped from receipt to be cleaned and sanitized, back to the partner, then to us, filled/refilled and sent to distribution and eventually sent to the consumer.. Then back to our "partner" to restart the cycle...lots of steps, lots of shipping. So it is more like an expansive squiggly, circuitous route than a tidy circle. I don't know if anyone has worked out the impact of transportation vs this "green" concept benefit...I asked and was told to go back to my corner...

There is a local soda company who makes it work, selling mainly to an already converted crowd at my areas' ridiculously overpriced farmers' markets. And I do remember returnable milk jugs either delivered or store pick up, but in those days the dairy was half a mile from my house, not somewhere in Canada (one "local" store brand) or across the state or country...

I do think the concept can be successful, I just can't see how to make it function for widely distributed products - at least not the way the company we are working with has it laid out. Viable part a solution, maybe, or part of an overall "green" strategy, maybe.

And bombers...seem to recall those were the root of all beerevil at some time not too long ago!

The can shortage is very real and may not fix itself soon. Minimum orders have increased quite a bit. Ball has told us we can still get what we need for this year by contract, but that contract will not be renewed. Our can use is a pimple on a flea compared to the big boys. A Pepsi or Coke cans more in a week (day?) than we do in a year. They (Ball) didn't quite laugh, but I think they smirked a bit. Maybe the smaller breweries can band together and pool their purchasing power, but I know of at least two who have been forced to growler/howler sales because they can't source cans.

 

Is this thread from 2012?

 

Actually plastic since metal cans are coated with plastic. I prefer my beer to be packaged in inert glass bottles. Nothing better than opening an corked and caged 750 ml glass bottle of a Belgian ale. Remove the metal cage then slowly work the cork upwards until the pressure inside the 750 ml bottle forces the cork to fly out of the bottle and land several feet away.

 

Box with dividers