A beer bottle is a

bottle A bottle is a narrow-necked container made of an impermeable material (such as glass, plastic or aluminium) in various shapes and sizes that stores and transports liquids. Its mouth, at the bottling line, can be sealed with an internal stop ...

designed as a container for

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cer ...

. Such designs vary greatly in size and shape, but the glass commonly is brown or green to reduce spoilage from light, especially

ultraviolet Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 PHz) to 400 nm (750 THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiatio ...

. The most widely established alternatives to glass containers for beer in retail sales are

beverage can A drink can (or beverage can) is a metal container designed to hold a fixed portion of liquid such as carbonated soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, fruit juices, teas, herbal teas, energy drinks, etc. Drink cans are made of aluminum (75% of w ...

s and aluminium bottles; for larger volumes

keg A keg is a small barrel. Wooden kegs made by a cooper were used to transport nails, gunpowder, and a variety of liquids. A keg is normally now constructed of stainless steel, although aluminium can be used if it is coated with plastic on th ...

s are in common use.

Bottling lines

Bottling lines are

production line A production line is a set of sequential operations established in a factory where components are assembled to make a finished article or where materials are put through a refining process to produce an end-product that is suitable for onward co ...

s that fill beer into bottles on a large scale. The process is typically as follows: # Filling a bottle in a filling machine (''filler'') typically involves drawing beer from a holding tank # Capping the bottle, labeling it # Packing the bottles into cases or cartons Many smaller breweries send their bulk beer to large facilities for contract bottling—though some will bottle by hand. The first step in bottling beer is ''depalletising'', where the empty bottles are removed from the original packaging delivered from the manufacturer, so that individual bottles may be handled. The bottles may then be rinsed with filtered water or air, and may have

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is tr ...

injected into them in attempt to reduce the level of oxygen within the bottle. The bottle then enters a "filler" which fills the bottle with beer and may also inject a small amount of

inert gas An inert gas is a gas that does not readily undergo chemical reactions with other chemical substances and therefore does not readily form chemical compounds. The noble gases often do not react with many substances and were historically referred to ...

( CO₂ or

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at sevent ...

) on top of the beer to disperse

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as ...

, as O₂ can ruin the quality of the product by

oxidation Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a ...

. Next the bottle enters a labelling machine ("labeller") where a label is applied. The product is then packed into boxes and warehoused, ready for sale. Depending on the magnitude of the bottling endeavour, there are many different types of bottling machinery available. Liquid level machines fill bottles so they appear to be filled to the same line on every bottle, while volumetric filling machines fill each bottle with exactly the same amount of liquid. Overflow pressure fillers are the most popular machines with beverage makers, while gravity filling machines are most cost effective. In terms of automation, inline filling machines are most popular, but rotary machines are much faster albeit much more expensive.

Shape and size

Stubby and steinie

A short glass bottle used for beer is generally called a ''stubby'', or originally a ''steinie''. Shorter and flatter than standard bottles, stubbies pack into a smaller space for transporting. The ''steinie'' was introduced in the 1930s by

Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company was an American brewery based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and once the largest producer of beer in the United States. Its namesake beer, Schlitz (), was known as "The beer that made Milwaukee famous" and was adv ...

and derived their name from their similarity to the shape of a

beer stein A beer stein ( ), or simply stein, is either a traditional beer mug made out of stoneware or specifically an ornamental beer mug sold as a souvenir or collectible. An 1894 article on beer mugs in the American ''Vogue'' magazine that describes ...

, which was emphasized in marketing. The bottles are sometimes made with thick glass so that the bottle can be cleaned and reused before being

recycle Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...

d. The capacity of a stubby is generally somewhere between ; the Canadian stubby bottle is traditionally , while the U.S. longneck was . Some of the expected advantages of stubby bottles are: ease of handling; less breakage; lighter in weight; less storage space; and lower center of gravity. After the end of Prohibition in the U.S. in 1933, many breweries began marketing beer in steel cans. The glass industry responded by devising short bottles with little necks, nicknamed stubbies, and types with short necks were called steinies. Capacities varied, with 12oz being the most common size used for soft drinks. The steinie dominated in the U.S. by 1950, and the neck became longer, such as seen with the familiar Budweiser bottle. Stubbies were popular in Canada until the 1980s. Today, standard SP Lager from Papua New Guinea is one of the few beers still sold in 12oz neckless stubbies. The U.S. steinie shape now dominates for small beer bottles the world over, in sizes from half-pint to the European 500ml. The word ''stubbie'' is now only in common use in Australia and Canada. Stubbies are used extensively in Europe, and were used almost exclusively in Canada from 1962 to 1986 as part of a standardization effort intended to reduce breakage, and the cost of sorting bottles when they were returned by customers. Due to their nostalgic value, stubbies were reintroduced by a number of Canadian craft brewers in the early 2000s. In the U.S., stubbies have generally fallen out of favour, with only a few brands still using them such as the Session

Lager Lager () is beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "lager" comes from the German for "storag ...

by the Full Sail Brewing Company, Switchback Brewing Co in

Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...

, US and

Red Stripe Red Stripe is a 4.7% ABV pale lager brewed by Desnoes & Geddes in Jamaica. It was first introduced in 1928 from a recipe developed by Paul H. Geddes and Bill Martindale. It is also brewed in the Netherlands by Heineken. In 1993, Guinness Brewin ...

, a Jamaican brand import.

Coors Brewing Company The Coors Brewing Company started as an American brewery and beer company in Golden, Colorado. In 2005, Adolph Coors Company, the holding company that owned Coors Brewing, merged with Molson, Inc. to become Molson Coors. The first Coors br ...

uses the stubby form for nostalgic packaging of Coors Banquet.

Belgium

Belgian beer Beer in Belgium includes pale ales, lambics, Flemish red ales, sour brown ales, strong ales and stouts. In 2018, there were 304 active breweries in Belgium, including international companies, such as AB InBev, and traditional breweries inclu ...

is usually packaged in bottles in four or six packs, or in bottles similar to those used for

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, sp ...

. Some beers, usually

lambic Lambic () is a type of beer brewed in the Pajottenland region of Belgium southwest of Brussels and in Brussels itself since the 13th century. Types of lambic beers include gueuze, kriek lambic and framboise. Lambic differs from most other beers ...

s and fruit lambics are also bottled in servings.

Britain

Through the latter part of the 20th century, most British brewers used a standard design of bottle, known as the London Brewers' Standard. This was in brown glass, with a conical medium neck in the

pint The pint (, ; symbol pt, sometimes abbreviated as ''p'') is a unit of volume or capacity in both the imperial and United States customary measurement systems. In both of those systems it is traditionally one eighth of a gallon. The British im ...

and with a rounded shoulder in the half-pint and nip sizes. Pints, defined as , and half-pints, or were the most common, but some brewers also bottled in nip (1/3-pint) and

quart The quart (symbol: qt) is an English unit of volume equal to a quarter gallon. Three kinds of quarts are currently used: the liquid quart and dry quart of the US customary system and the of the British imperial system. All are roughly equ ...

(2-pint) sizes. It was for example mostly

barley wine Barley wine is a strong ale between 6–12% alcohol by volume."Barley wine"

standardisation Standardization or standardisation is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties that include firms, users, interest groups, standards organizations and governments. Standardization ...

simplified the

automation Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...

of bottling and made it easier for customers to

bottles as they were interchangeable. They carried a deposit charge, which in the 1980s rose to seven pence for a pint and five pence for a half-pint. Some brewers however used individual bottle designs: among these were Samuel Smith, which used an embossed clear bottle, and Scottish and Newcastle, which used a clear bottle for their Newcastle Brown Ale (both designs survive in the size today). Other brewers such as Timothy Taylor had used their own embossed bottles and rare examples continued to be reused into the 1980s. During the 1980s the industry turned away from refillable bottles and UK beer bottles are now all one-trip, and most are 500 mL (16.9 U.S. fl oz; 17.6 imp fl oz) or in volume. The compulsory high recycled-content of these bottles makes them very dark and the lack of temper makes them chip easily when being opened.

Netherlands ''(pijpje)''

Most beer producers in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Neth ...

sell their beers in a brown bottle. Its official name is ''Bruin Nederlands Retour CBK-fles'' (Brown Dutch Return CBK Bottle), with CBK standing for Centraal Brouwerij Kantoor, the former name of the Dutch trade association of larger breweries, Nederlandse Brouwers. The name is abbreviated as ''BNR-fles'', but the bottle is more commonly known as ' (little pipe). The total length of the bottle is 207 mm, with a conical neck of about one-third of that length. The bottles carry a 10-cent deposit. The breweries share a pool of re-usable bottles of the same type.

Germany

In Germany, approximately 99% of beer bottles are reusable deposit bottles and are either . At any given time, an estimated 2 billion beer bottles are in circulation in Germany, each of which sees an average of 36 reuses. The deposit for beer bottles sealed with crown corks is €0.08; for bottles with

flip-top A flip-top, swing-top, lightning toggle, or Quillfeldt stopper (after the inventor, Charles de Quillfeldt) is a type of closure frequently used for bottles containing carbonated beverages, such as beer or mineral water. The mouth of the bottle i ...

closures, the deposit is €0.15. The Euro bottle was the main shape in use until the 1980s, when many breweries began to switch over to NRW and Longneck bottles, both of which are available as 330ml and 500ml bottles. The market leader is the NRW bottle with a market share of 39%, followed by Longneck at 33%. Many smaller, traditional breweries have retained the Euro bottle as part of their

corporate identity A corporate identity or corporate image is the manner in which a corporation, firm or business enterprise presents itself to the public (such as customers and investors as well as employees). The corporate identity is typically visualized by ...

, particularly Augustiner, Tegernseer, and

Schlenkerla Schlenkerla is a historic brewpub in Bamberg, Franconia, Germany renowned for its smoked Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier. Beers Aecht Schlenkerla is recognized for making traditional Rauchbier (smoked beer) including urbock, märzen, weizen ...

. Steinieflasche neutral.jpg, 330ml "Steinie" bottle Euroflasche neutral.jpg, 500ml Euro bottle NRW-Flasche neutral.jpg, 500ml NRW Bottle 20181028 Vichy beer bottle.jpg, 330ml NRW Bottle, also called "Vichy" bottle Longneck bottle neutral.jpg, 330ml Longneck bottle

Longneck, Industry Standard Bottle (ISB) or North American longneck

A North American longneck is a type of beer bottle with a long neck. It is known as the standard longneck bottle or industry standard bottle (ISB). The ISB longnecks have a uniform capacity, height, weight and diameter and can be reused on average 16 times. The U.S. ISB longneck is . In Canada, in 1992, the large breweries all agreed to use a longneck bottle of standard design (named AT2), thus replacing the traditional stubby bottle and an assortment of brewery-specific long-necks which had come into use in the mid-1980s.

Large bottles

In the United States and Canada, large bottles are , or one-sixth of a US gallon (colloquially called a "bomber"or a "deuce, deuce" or "double deuce"). Some breweries also choose to use bottles, often for smaller batches of beer. The European and Australian standard large bottle is and is also used occasionally in Canada. In South Africa they are referred to as a "quart"; in Australia they are known colloquially as a "longneck","king brown", "tallie", "largie" or simply a "bottle". A liter and 1.25 L are also in use.

Forty

A "forty" is American

slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gr ...

for a bottle commonly used for cheaper varieties of beer and of

malt liquor Malt liquor is a type of mass market beer with high alcohol content, most closely associated with North America. Legally, it often includes any alcoholic beverage with 5% or more alcohol by volume made with malted barley. In common usage, it refe ...

, though some bottles are erroneously called forties.

Growler

A growler () is a glass, ceramic, or stainless steel jug used to transport

draught beer Draught beer, also spelt draft, is beer served from a cask or keg rather than from a bottle or can. Draught beer served from a pressurised keg is also known as Name Until Joseph Bramah patented the beer engine in 1785, beer was served dir ...

in the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil and other countries. They are commonly sold at

breweries A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

and brewpubs as a means to sell

take-out A take-out or takeout (U.S., Canada, and the Philippines); carry-out or to-go (Scotland and some dialects in the U.S. and Canada); takeaway (England, Wales, Australia, Lebanon, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and occasionally in Nort ...

craft beer Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...

. In the United States, a growler is . Less commonly can be found "growlerettes" or "howlers", which are half-growlers, or 32 U.S. fl oz.

Small bottles

There are also smaller bottles, called ''nips'', ''ponies'' (United States), ''cuartitos'' (Mexico, "small fourth", in reference to the larger 355 mL ''media'' "half"), ''throwdowns'' or ''grenades'' (Australia), among other names. In the United States, the size of these bottles is usually , and are similar to the size of original

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlan ...

and

Pepsi Cola Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

bottles. The term ''

pony A pony is a type of small horse ('' Equus ferus caballus''). Depending on the context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. Compared ...

'' dates to the 19th century, and is due to the diminutive size, being used earlier for a pony glass, and similarly for a pony keg. The best-known brands of ponies are

Rolling Rock Rolling Rock is a 4.4% abv American lager launched in 1939 by the Latrobe Brewing Company. Although founded as a local beer in Western Pennsylvania, it was marketed aggressively and eventually became a national product. The brand was sold to An ...

(pony introduced 1939)and

Miller High Life The Miller Brewing Company is an American brewery and beer company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was founded in 1855 by Frederick Miller. Molson Coors acquired the full global brand portfolio of Miller Brewing Company in 2016, and operates the ...

(pony introduced 1972), and the 7 oz size of Rolling Rock likely contributed to the standardization on this size. Other major brands, such as Budweiser and Coors, are also regionally available in 7 oz bottles; these were introduced in the early 1970s, following the introduction of the size for Miller High Life. The popularity of Rolling Rock ponies has led to the

folk etymology Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more famili ...

that "pony" is from the Rolling Rock horse logo. This is incorrect: the term "pony of beer" in the United States predates Rolling Rock (introduced 1939) by over 50 years, and advertising for Rolling Rock from the 1950s uses the term "pony bottle" generically, stating "... Rolling Rock is the Largest Selling 7 oz. Pony Bottle of Premium Beer in Pennsylvania". Among Mexican beers, Corona sells ponies and ''cuartitos'', branded as ''Coronita'', from the Spanish diminutive '' -ita''. The American-market 7 oz. ponies come in 6-packs and the Mexican market 210 mL ''cuartitos'' come in boxes of 12. In Australia, a limited range of beers are available in a bottle, nicknamed a ''throwdown'' or ''grenade''. Pony bottles are most popular for the on-premises market, where they are sold by the bucketful. The motivation in the 1970s was to target lighter drinkers, and to ensure that the lager beer stayed cold until finished. The market for beer in small bottles is smaller than that in regular size bottles, which cause added difficulties and expense: the bottles themselves are harder to source, and require either a separate bottling line or retooling the bottling line between runs. As a result, US craft breweries only rarely bottle in small bottles; temporary examples include Flying Dog Brewery (2007–2009) and

Rogue Ales Rogue Ales is a brewery founded in 1988 in Ashland, Oregon. The company brews their own beer, distills their own spirits, farms their own ingredients and coopers their own barrels. Rogue has locations in Oregon and Washington. History Rogue Ales ...

(2009–2011, using extra bottles from Flying Dog).

"Darwin Stubby"

A Darwin Stubby refers to several particularly large beer bottle sizes in Australia. It was first introduced in April 1958 with an capacity. The Darwin Stubby is available by NT Draught in the Northern Territory. The Darwin Stubby has an iconic, if

kitsch Kitsch ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as naïve imitation, overly-eccentric, gratuitous, or of banal taste. The avant-garde opposed kitsch as melodramatic and superficial affiliation with ...

, status in Australian folklore.

"Caguama" and "Ballena" bottles

In Mexico, ''caguama'' and ''ballena'' are popular names for a beer bottle. The beer brands that are sold in these bottles include

Tecate Tecate () is a city in Tecate Municipality, Baja California. It is across the Mexico-US border from Tecate, California. As of 2019, the city had a population of 108,860 inhabitants, while the metropolitan area has a population of 132,406 inh ...

, Carta Blanca, Sol,

Indio Indio may refer to: Places * Indio, Bovey Tracey, an historic estate in Devon, England * Indio, California, a city in Riverside County, California, United States People with the name * Indio (musician), Canadian musician Gordon Peterson * Índio ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seyche ...

, Corona Familiar and Pacífico. The name "caguama" refers to the

Loggerhead sea turtle The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around in carapace length when fully ...

, which is called "caguama" in Spanish, and is used mostly in central and eastern Mexico. There are larger sizes of beer bottle called a ''súper caguama'' or a ''caguamón''. The name ''ballena'' is Spanish for whale, and is mostly used along the northern Pacific coast.

Gallery

File:Viru-New-bottle-Nov-2010.jpg, Cone-shaped bottle of an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe, Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, sea across from Sweden, to ...

n beer File:Grolschfles2005.jpg, Two ''pijpjes'' File:Darwin stubby.jpg, Darwin Stubbies in several variations File:Beer growler.jpg, Half gallon growler

Closure

Bottled beer is sold with several types of

bottle cap A bottle cap or bottle top is a closure for the top opening of a bottle. A cap is sometimes colourfully decorated with the logo of the brand of contents. Plastic caps are used for plastic bottles, while metal with plastic backing is used for gl ...

, but most often with crown caps, also known as ''crown seals''. Some beers (for example

Grolsch Grolsch Brewery (Koninklijke Grolsch N.V. - "Royal Grolsch"), known simply as Grolsch (), is a Dutch brewery founded in 1615 by Willem Neerfeldt in Groenlo. In 1895 the de Groen family bought the brewery. They had started their own brewery in ...

) are sold in "beugel" style bottles, known as "

" or "swing top" in some English speaking countries. A number of beers are sold finished with a

cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known a ...

and muselet (or cage), similar to champagne closures. These closures were largely superseded by the crown cap at the end of the 19th century, but survive in premium markets. Many larger beers, including most forties and some growlers, use

screw cap A screw cap or closure is a common type of closure for bottles, jars, and tubes. Usage A screw closure is a mechanical device which is screwed on and off of a "finish" on a container. Either continuous threads or lugs are used. It must be en ...

s due to their resealing design.

Gallery

File:Beer bottle closed with crown cap, unopened.jpg, Crown cap, unopened File:Beer-bottling.webm, Video of homebrewers bottling beer using crown caps File:Twist off beer bottle cap, unopened..jpg, Twist off beer bottle cap, unopened File:Swing top beer bottle closure, unopened..jpg, Swing top beer bottle closure, unopened File:Beer bottle sealed with a cork and muselet.jpg,

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known a ...

and wirehood closure, unopened

Bottle fermentation

Some beers undergo a fermentation in the bottle, giving natural

carbonation Carbonation is the chemical reaction of carbon dioxide to give carbonates, bicarbonates, and carbonic acid. In chemistry, the term is sometimes used in place of carboxylation, which refers to the formation of carboxylic acids. In inorganic ...

. These beers are usually referred to as bottle-conditioned. They are bottled with a viable yeast population in suspension and to start what may be a second or third

fermentation Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food p ...

. If there is no residual fermentable sugar left, sugar and or

wort Wort () is the liquid extracted from the mashing process during the brewing of beer or whisky. Wort contains the sugars, the most important being maltose and maltotriose, that will be fermented by the brewing yeast to produce alcohol. Wort al ...

may be added in a process known as priming. The resulting fermentation generates CO₂ that is trapped in the bottle, remaining in solution and providing natural carbonation. Bottle-conditioned beers may be either filled unfiltered direct from the fermentation or conditioning tank, or filtered and then reseeded with

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constit ...

Use as weapons

Beer bottles are sometimes used as makeshift clubs, for instance in bar fights. As with

pint glass A pint glass is a form of drinkware made to hold either a British imperial pint of or an American pint of . Other definitions also exist, see below. These glasses are typically used to serve beer, and also often for cider. Current shapes Th ...

es, the use of glass bottles as weapons is known as

glassing Glassing (or bottling in New Zealand) is a physical attack using a glass or bottle as a weapon. Glassings can occur at bars or pubs where alcohol is served and such items are readily available. The most common method of glassing involves the a ...

. Pathologists determined in 2009 that beer bottles are strong enough to crack human skulls, which requires an

impact Impact may refer to: * Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period * Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US Science and technology * Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event * Impact ...

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of h ...

of between 14 and 70

joule The joule ( , ; symbol: J) is the unit of energy in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to the amount of work done when a force of 1 newton displaces a mass through a distance of 1 metre in the direction of the force applied ...

s, depending on the location. Empty beer bottles shatter at 40 joules, while full bottles shatter at only 30 joules because of the pressure of the

carbonated Carbonation is the chemical reaction of carbon dioxide to give carbonates, bicarbonates, and carbonic acid. In chemistry, the term is sometimes used in place of carboxylation, which refers to the formation of carboxylic acids. In inorgan ...

beer inside the bottle. A test performed by the television show ''

MythBusters ''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television program, developed by Peter Rees and produced by Australia's Beyond Television Productions. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast internation ...

'' suggested that full bottles are significantly more dangerous than empty bottles. They concluded that full bottles inflict more damage in terms of

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...

and

skull fracture A skull fracture is a break in one or more of the eight bones that form the cranial portion of the skull, usually occurring as a result of blunt force trauma. If the force of the impact is excessive, the bone may fracture at or near the site of ...

. However, they found that both full and empty

bottles A bottle is a narrow-necked container made of an impermeable material (such as glass, plastic or aluminium) in various shapes and sizes that stores and transports liquids. Its mouth, at the bottling line, can be sealed with an internal stop ...

do the same amount of scalp damage. As with pint glasses, the main solution to glassing with bottles is not to dispense glass bottles where there is risk of fights or accidents, most simply either using plastic glasses or plastic bottles (or aluminium cans).

Lightstruck beer

Lightstruck, or "skunked" or "skunky", beer has been exposed to

and

visible light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 tera ...

. The light causes

riboflavin Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, is a vitamin found in food and sold as a dietary supplement. It is essential to the formation of two major coenzymes, flavin mononucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide. These coenzymes are involved in ...

to react with and break down isohumulones, chemicals that contribute to the bitterness of the beer and are derived from the

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whi ...

. A molecule resulting from a subsequent chain of reactions, ''3-methylbut-2-ene-1-thiol,'' is very similar chemically and in odour to the musk-borne

mercaptan In organic chemistry, a thiol (; ), or thiol derivative, is any organosulfur compound of the form , where R represents an alkyl or other organic substituent. The functional group itself is referred to as either a thiol group or a sulfhydryl grou ...

s that are a

skunk Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or gin ...

's natural defences. It has also been identified as the primary odorant in

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternativel ...

that contributes to its skunk-like aroma. In some cases, such as

, a hops extract that does not have isohumulones is used to bitter the beer so it cannot be "lightstruck". A dark brown glass bottle gives some protection to the beer, but green and clear glass bottles offer virtually no protection at all. There are also other solutions available to prevent beer bottled in clear and green glass from becoming skunked or light-struck, such as taller walls on 6-pack carriers, which is common with craft beers and highlighted in

Samuel Adams Samuel Adams ( – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, ...

marketing.

References

External links

Article on stubbies which mentions the newer longnecks.

Glass Manufacturers' marks & logos seen on glass containers, including beer, soda, & other bottles -- Primarily American)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beer Bottle Beer vessels and serving Bottles Articles containing video clips Single-serve containers

Bottling lines

Shape and size

Stubby and steinie

Belgium

Britain

Netherlands ''(pijpje)''

Germany

Longneck, Industry Standard Bottle (ISB) or North American longneck

Large bottles

Forty

Growler

Small bottles

"Darwin Stubby"

"Caguama" and "Ballena" bottles

Gallery

Closure

Gallery

Bottle fermentation

Use as weapons

Lightstruck beer

See also

References

Further reading

External links