Haven't had a BH beer in ages but recently am getting tempted; however, what's the deal with the clear glass bottle? Thanks, KP.
Clear glass bottles are a scourge on perfectly good beer from the UK, and I have yet to figure out why many UK brewers import their goods to the States in them. Invariably they will have been mishandled. I have tried so many with high hopes only to be disappointed. It will be skunked, dollar to a doughnut.
The deal is that Behaven was bought out in 2005 by Greene King. If took about 5 years but eventually the marketing men took over and got their way with the supposed trendy and flattering clear bottle. Would never ever have happened in Sandy Hunter's day but then if you've drunk many of their beers you's quickly learn that GK don't really give a monkey's what their beer tastes like. Just as long as it all tastes the same.
I don't get it, if putting them in clear bottles will definitely affect their taste, why in the world will they still push the idea? Aesthetic reasons? Economical ones? You would think that these beer companies would put more value on the taste and quality of their beers since it is what people buy from them after all.
I got this from Jesskidden's post archive. Here is Innis & Gunn's explanation on why their beers go into clear bottles. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ggbi31Rpirq1pyx4NSjUgMLOGFOkXLjzoBtMZni6PAw/edit?hl=en_US&pli=1 The reasons are probably similar for other European brewers.
well, inversely, remember what happened when Samuel Smith went from clear to brown bottles a few years back? Especially the pale ale! Right no more skunked beer. Took them a long time but they learned a valuable lesson. Well, unfortunately, the marketing wankers at Greed King have to go through this little bit of beer education. Clear bottles = skunk.
Iy's not as cloudy as all that but it's pretty far North and skunking isn't a problem. Look at a beer garden in high summer and everybody has beer out in full sun while they talk and eat. Even after quite a while out in the open it gets warm but that's all.I've never encountered skunking in 50 years of beer drinking except during a tasting course when it was artificially simulated.So I'd recognise it if I met it. But exporters really should be aware that if it's a problem in the US then they should use brown glass.
