beer in plastic?
At first glance, Byron Bay Brewery's new product
looks like an ordinary bottle of beer.
It has the right shape, a paper label and crown
seal cap but there is one fundamental difference
- it is made from plastic rather than glass.
The brewery has teamed up with Visy to launch
its premium ale beer, which is currently available
in glass, in a 375ml recyclable PET bottle as well.At first glance, Byron Bay Brewery's new product
in glass, in a 375ml recyclable PET bottle as well.
Miller Brewing Co. is going to sell three of its best-selling beers -- Miller Lite, Miller Genuine
Draft and Icehouse -- nationally in 16-ounce and 20ounce plastic bottles as well as in the
traditional glass bottles and aluminum cans. The nation's second biggest brewer has been
testing reaction to beer in plastic bottles over the past 18 months in more
Visy says that PET technology has advanced since beer in
plastic bottles was first seen on Australian shelves, giving
it a longer shelf life and improved taste.
CUB and Lion Nathan were early adopters of plastic beer
bottles, offering Carlton Cold and Hahn Ice, respectively,
in this format for a short time in the late 1990s.
This was primarily for events such as music festivals.
This new incarnation will be pitched to a similar audience
as well as pubs and clubs.
Byron Bay Brewery co-founder Glenn Cary said safety was
the primary motivator behind the move.
"Late last year with the spate of glassings I felt I needed to
start developing an alternative to glass," he said.
"I knew other companies had tried and failed and that Visy
had made some innovations [since then].
"That [old] technology was more suited to soft-drink rather
than beer packaging. The current packaging is multi-
layered so it allows us to pasteurise the bottle with the
beer in it, which stops it from oxidising the beer and
makes it more stable."
The beer has a shelf life of six months, a few months shy
of the nine to 10 months of beer in a glass bottle.
Cary said the brewery opted for a plastic bottle rather than
a can for aesthetic reasons. Cans were not as popular as
bottles, he said.
Cary said Jupiters Casino on the Gold Coast, and the
Coogee Bay Hotel and the Ivy in Sydney had already
signed up to stock the beer.
These Sydney premises are affected by recent legislation
that forces venues that have recorded more than 12
assaults a year to use plastic drinkware after midnight.
V Australia will also make it available on international
flights.
"People are surprised at how good the beer tastes," he
said. "They didn't realise initially that they were drinking out
of a plastic bottle. Most people look at it knowing we have
problems in society and here is one way of offering a
solution."
Foster's has gone down a different road for airlines and
festivals. It offers Crown Lager in an aluminium bottle and
two Wolf Blass wines in PET.
why?
law
The development of a clear, plastic, cost effective consumer package for oxygen-sensitive beverages has
long been a technical and manufacturing goal of the packaging industry. PET bottles are typically one
seventh the weight of an equivalent glass container, do not break or smash, and are already well established
for carbonated soft drinks, particularly in the larger two and three litre sizes. PET has also, over recent years,
taken a significant market share from glass and metal containers in the single serving size.
amagine going for a picnic at the beach and taking some beers. Idyllic, you might think, unless you either (a) have to carry
the heavy load of bottles or (b) drop the bottles and leave bits of glass all over the place. Which is why new safe and light
PET bottles for beer could prove doubly attractive to outdoors drinkers, as well as for serving at music festivals and in clubs.
With the rise in both indoor and outdoor leisure activities, such as music festivals and sporting events, and the growth of the
club scene, traditional glass drinks containers that may break, or be broken can increasingly be seen as a safety hazard.
On top of this consideration, our hectic modern lifestyles favour clean and safe packaging concepts with grab and go and
consume on the move qualities. The resealable PET single serving container is suited to these needs, on top of which it
weighs us down less when we're rushing around.
why not!
a perfect pot!
fresh
clean
generic
global
traditional
safe
cool
