# Beer in plastic bottles? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 21, 2001, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-in-plastic-bottles/94636 "2001-11-21T19:23:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gingersnap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f04885/32.png) [@gingersnap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gingersnap)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-in-plastic-bottles/94636/1 "2001-11-21T19:23:34Z")
Why doesn’t beer come in plastic bottles? Can’t be the carbonation thing, since soda is fizzier, and it’s available in plastic. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-in-plastic-bottles/94636/2 "2001-11-21T19:33:08Z")
I think they do in Europe; they’ve [sold them](http://www.realbeer.com/news/articles/news-000738.html) in the U.S… ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-in-plastic-bottles/94636/3 "2001-11-21T19:33:46Z")
Go [**here**](http://www.packaging-technology.com/informer/Manage/manage6/) ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-in-plastic-bottles/94636/4 "2001-11-21T19:33:48Z")
Because beer tastes like crap in plastic bottles. Beer, more so than other beverages, seems to have an unusual property of tasting like whatever you put it in. I HATE drinking beer in cans. It’s glass bottles or a glass pint glass out of the tap for me. Putting beer in plastic would only make it taste worse than in cans, which is bad enough, IMO. For the record, I enjoy soda in cans most, plastic second. Soda doesn’t change that much when in a different container, but it is slightly noticable. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-in-plastic-bottles/94636/5 "2001-11-21T19:41:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*in [**Plastic Resources** \*](http://www.plasticsresource.com/reading_room/press_releases/99/99feb24_plasticbeer.html) > > \*\*WASHINGTON, DC and CHARLOTTE, NC (February 24, 1999) - Three leading plastics industry groups, the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR), the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR) and the American Plastics Council (APC) recently started a coordinated effort to ensure the successful introduction of innovative, new plastic bottles for beer… > > The recently introduced plastic beer bottle is made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and is currently being test marketed in six U.S. cities.\*\* ---
**Author:** ![horhay\_achoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@horhay\_achoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horhay_achoa)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-in-plastic-bottles/94636/6 "2001-11-21T19:47:39Z")
I have seen beer in plastic bottles. It is for all the rednecks that like NASCAR. ---
**Author:** ![NutMagnet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@NutMagnet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NutMagnet)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-in-plastic-bottles/94636/7 "2001-11-21T19:49:05Z")
Shea Stadium sells Bud in plastic bottles, which look like the glass longnecks, at Mets’ games. ---
**Author:** ![Ferrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-in-plastic-bottles/94636/8 "2001-11-21T19:52:36Z")
> [@](#): > > Because beer tastes like crap in plastic bottles. Beer, more so than other beverages, seems to have an unusual property of tasting like whatever you put it in. The “unusual property” is that beer contains alcohol. Alcohol is a solvent. ---
**Author:** ![slowhand53](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@slowhand53](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slowhand53)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-in-plastic-bottles/94636/9 "2001-11-21T19:56:21Z")
Bar’s and stdiums that have a “no glass” rule generally get AB and Coors products in plastic bottles. the other beers they have are generally served in plastic cups. check around with your local distributer (not your local beer store) to see where they might be available to you. ---
**Author:** ![Dilbert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58f4c7/32.png) [@Dilbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dilbert)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-in-plastic-bottles/94636/10 "2001-11-21T20:15:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by horhay\_achoa \* > \*\*I have seen beer in plastic bottles. It is for all the rednecks that like NASCAR. \*\* Hmm… that is a very bad stereotype. After all, it could be the strung out businessman that starts a bar fight. That is why they have them. Most bars love them. They are impossible to break on the bar and attack someone with. And for the record, it tastes better than a can, almost as good as a glass bottle, IMO. Nothing can compare to tap unless you brew it yourself. They sell them in 16 oz bottles in packs of 4 at all the gas stations in my area. Most varaties of Miller beer. They are overpriced however. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-in-plastic-bottles/94636/11 "2001-11-21T20:20:19Z")
FWIW one of my homebrewing (beermaking) sources once warned against using those big plastic water bottles (carboys) that are on the top of office water coolers these days for making beer. The usual vessel that is used is the glass equivalent that used to be on water coolers in the old days. Apparently the plastic ones let some air diffuse through, and beer-good beer, anyway-is highly sensitive to exposure to air (oxidation). It’s a shame, because it would be much easier to get my hands on an empty plastic one. I could even just use them a few times, then send them off for recycling when they got scratched. This might be one reason it took a while for beer to be available in plastic…they needed to develop a plastic that wouldn’t let air in. ---
**Author:** ![Zumba\_The\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/779978/32.png) [@Zumba\_The\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zumba_The_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-in-plastic-bottles/94636/12 "2001-11-21T20:25:28Z")
Stores near the beaches here sell beer in plastic bottles. You can’t bring the glass ones on the beach. ---
**Author:** ![Dilbert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58f4c7/32.png) [@Dilbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dilbert)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-in-plastic-bottles/94636/13 "2001-11-21T20:28:20Z")
Hmm… that’s odd. My homebrew source ( [http://www.mrbeer.com](http://www.mrbeer.com) ) has a plastic “keg” to brew the beer in. It also sells plastic bottles to store the beer in. It does say you can use regular 2 or 3 liter bottles to bottle your beer. I guess this is one of those YMMV things. Since I’ve never had the same beer brewed in a different vessel and stored in glass bottles, I can’t comment on wether it affects the taste of my beer. My uncle does use a different beer company and he uses glass bottles and caps his own. He doesn’t brew the same type of beer as me though, so I don’t know what the flavor differences are. ---
**Author:** ![roadrunner70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@roadrunner70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roadrunner70)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-in-plastic-bottles/94636/14 "2001-11-21T20:36:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by horhay\_achoa \* > \*\*I have seen beer in plastic bottles. It is for all the rednecks that like NASCAR. \*\* Suck my plastic bottled beer swilling, NASCAR loving dick, you pompous ass dickhead. ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-in-plastic-bottles/94636/15 "2001-11-21T20:44:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Weedeater \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by horhay\_achoa \* > > \*\*I have seen beer in plastic bottles. It is for all the rednecks that like NASCAR. \*\* > > Suck my plastic bottled beer swilling, NASCAR loving dick, you pompous ass dickhead. \*\* Wow, way to banish that stereotype. ---
**Author:** ![Dilbert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58f4c7/32.png) [@Dilbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dilbert)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-in-plastic-bottles/94636/16 "2001-11-21T20:46:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Weedeater \* > \*\*Suck my plastic bottled beer swilling, NASCAR loving dick, you pompous ass dickhead. \*\* Not quite how I would have put it, but an appropriate response. Actually I think a more appropriate stereotype for plastic beer bottles would be for biker brawls in bars. Take that _thunk_ _thunk_ _thunk_ Plastic beer bottles would be about as effective in a bar fight as a pillow. Not that I have anything against bikers, mind you. I’ve been to the kind of places that would benefit from these plastic beer bottles. ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-in-plastic-bottles/94636/17 "2001-11-21T20:57:27Z")
I was at Yankee Stadium last year, and we bought Miller Genuine Drafts or some such thing. They came in plastic bottles. We figured it wasn’t so much cost, as the danger of having a glass bottle in a crowded, concretey area. As for why you don’t get beer in plastic bottles? First of all, plastic is thought of as “cheap” by many, especially when its used as a replacement for glass. Hence, plastic booze bottles = cheap shit. Most companies don’t want to represent their product this way, so they stick to glass. Also, it’s easier to re-use glass beer bottles (no need to reform them or anything like that, they can scrub them out and refill them). You can’t put a real bottlecap on a plastic beer bottle, and opening a beer is one of THE rituals of drinking. Plastic twist-caps are associated with soda, and especially when people are paying $4.50 for the beer, they want their moneys worth. If plastic beer bottles were marketable and saved a signifigant amount of money, they’d be used. I’m sure its been tested, but it probably failed spectacularily. ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-in-plastic-bottles/94636/18 "2001-11-21T20:58:33Z")
just thought I’d clarify my remark upon further reflection. I too, agree with the sentiment that not all NASCAR fans are rednecks. However, and IANAM(oderator) obviously, but I believe that kind of response is frowned upon in GQ. oh, and beer in plastic tastes bloody horrible… ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-in-plastic-bottles/94636/19 "2001-11-21T21:01:16Z")
Ahh, that’s one more thing: plastic imparts a flavor to the liquid contained therein. Glass has basically no flavor. Glass, then, is the perfect vehicle for delivering an untained flavor. ---
**Author:** ![roadrunner70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@roadrunner70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roadrunner70)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-in-plastic-bottles/94636/20 "2001-11-21T21:07:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by 5-HT \* > \*\*However, and IANAM(oderator) obviously, but I believe that kind of response is frowned upon in GQ. \*\* I agree, they were obviously trolling, and I foolishly gave 'em what they wanted. My apologies. I drink Heinekin away…in bottles. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-in-plastic-bottles/94636.md?page=2)