Judging a beer by the cap

[Rhythmdvl]

Here is a fairly accurate rule of thumb that can get you out of plenty of jams –

Cheap beer will have a twist-off, expensive beer will have a traditional bottle cap.

Now, of course there are exceptions, and everything is relative (there was a time when Budweiser was an expensive beer to me) but for the most part it holds true. Bud, Mich, etc. all have nice, convenient twisties, but most imports and lots of hoity-toity micro brews have regular needanopener type caps. Is there any reason for this other than an attempt at pretension? Thanks.

[Cabbage]

My WAG is that it's simply the cost of twist offs. I would definitely think it's more expensive to bottle beer with twist off tops, and microbreweries don't feel the need to go that extra expense.

[friedo]

I always thought the reason shitty beer like Bud sells so well is because it's much eaiser to decap when severely inebriated.

[johnson]

Might it be that there is a marginally greater chance of oxidation with a twist-off? Sounds good, anyway.

In any case, for whatever reason, I think there may be a move by the hoity-toity, I mean non-pisswater beers towards the twist-offs. Doesn't Sierra Nevada now use them? Then again, didn't the long-neck MGD used to have non-twist-offs? Those were the treat in college--sure beat the heck out of the Beast...

[Zenster]

Yes, you can judge a beer by the bottle cap. The real ones had a cork lined cap.

Pilsner Urquell

Niksivo Tivo

Dortmunder Ritterbrau

Of course, almost all brewers have switched away from this costly appurtenance, but we shall gloss over that for now.

You may count out any beer that has some sort of puzzle printed inside the bottle top.

As for a really good beer, try Sapporo's, "Winter's Tale". It is brewed only once a year and is billed as a Stout Lager, yes I know, a contradiction. It's really a high test lager that'll put your pud in the mud rather quickly.

[johnson]

I was drinking Pilsner Urquell from the bottle before I stopped drinking from bottles! Well, ok, not really. But I buy it by the case, and buy cases quite often. I have yet to see a cork-lined cap. Didn't when I was in Europe, either. Oops--just see you said "had."

PU is by far the best beer available (I've never had Budweiser Budvar, thanks to those bastards at A-B. It's bad enough that they and their ilk dominate the business, but to steal the name of a beer, and then prevent its import? How many Bud drinkers would switch to a real beer?). I've not been to Prague, but a good friend reported to me after a visit in the early 90's that half-liters of fresh PU were all over town, for about 50¢! The mind boggles...

[Billdo]

I was recently reading Why Do Dogs Have Wet Noses, one of David Feldman's Imponderables books (yes, I know it ain't Cecil, but you gotta do something while waiting for another Straight Dope book to come out) which addressed this very question. He points out:

You may have noticed that with rare exceptions, bottles without twistoff caps are imports. Twistoffs are made of aluminum, a soft metal. L. Van Munching, Jr., of Van Munching & Co., U.S. distributors of Heineken beer told Imponderables that soft caps can be loosened in transit with the danger of beer and/or air leaking out of the bottle.

My own observation is that returnable Bud bottles (i.e. the ones you get from a bar or a beer distributor that are intended to be refilled, as opposed to those that merely have a 5c deposit under state recycling law), as well as other brands, have traditional (non-twistoff) caps.

[Tzel]

Not sure if this is a hijack, but what the hey, I'll coment on it anyway. I hate twist-offs. Not necessarily because of the beer inside, even though I do consider myself to have a certain amount of taste in beer, but because I possess incredible prowess with the lighter-opening method for traditional bottle caps.

[occ]

Originally posted by Cabbage
My WAG is that it's simply the cost of twist offs. I would definitely think it's more expensive to bottle beer with twist off tops, and microbreweries don't feel the need to go that extra expense.

I really don't think price has anything to do with it; how much more expensive would it be to mold glass with a short spiral groove rather than a simple straight ridge? I'm pretty certain it just comes down to tradition; opening beer with a bottle opener is traditional. You wouldn't want to pay a lot for a bottle of wine and find it comes with a plastic screw-cap, would you? Despite the fact that its more convenient?

[Voorvie]

To Johnson-
I'm glad to see that someone else realizes that Budweiser is not an American beer. Well, it is now, but not originally! I have had the pleasure of drinking lots of Budvar in my time, as my parents are Czech and always bring a stash home after visiting the relatives. I believe that you can also get Budvar through specialty beer stores (in the city where I live, we have this place called "Beers of the World" where you can get all sorts of interesting Czech beers) Have you ever tried Rebel or Gambrinus or Kozel? All great beers! And get your ass over to Prague, already! Its fantastic!

[beagledave]

<further hijack> We homebrewers prefer the non twist off bottles..then we can re use them for our home brews..you get a better seal with a standard capper if you use the non twist offs...

mmmmm time to head to the basement for some oatmeal stout:)

[Gunslinger]

My mom was a sales rep for IBC Root Beer when they switched to twist-offs. She said it cut the shelf life in half. Apparently they don't seal as well as regular caps.