clear bottles

[Martin townshend]

Can someone please tell me why UK beer barons keep putting thier beer into clear bottles?

I've always avoided these beers at around $7+/bottle as I suspect they'll be skunked and in my experience, some of them have been.

Do the UK brewers think NZ is an ignorant market?

I love these beers, Greene King, Old Spekled Hen etc, but I can't help but feel there is something arrogant about the clear vessels...Have I missed something?

M

[martin w]

i wouldn't have thought they thought the foreign markets as ignorant as i would imagine the mass proportion is sold to the uk market , again still in clear bottles

do flourescent lights skunk beer? i would imagine that british supermarkets shift sufficient volume that the bottles arn't on the shelf very long.

i brewed a hobgoblin clone recently and it happened to be the beer my dad was drinking when i spoke to him at the weekend, 99p per bottle at asda, i can't imagine them hanging round on the shelves at that price!
but back to you original question, i too would like to know why beers(not just british) are bottled in clear bottles

on a related note why do the mega breweries bother with brown glass when they package in cardboard boxes and there are very few hops anyway? hmm?

[Martin townshend]

clear bottles =bad practice. I'm not impressed. These vessels are just a cheaper option. Just like the brown bottles the 'mega' breweries use. More to the point, why put the same info on the box that is all ready on the bottle?

[Chris Banks]

My understanding is that the proper beers that come in clear glass packaging are hopped with Tetrahop extract which is a light stable hop extract therefore they are not as badly affected by uv.

Old Speckled Hen and Greene King - you can avoid the clear bottle by buying it in the cans (its generally cheaper to!)

[studio1]

I purchased some English imports on special in clear glass at New World, College Hill. Every single one was skunked. Would have taken them back if I didn't live on the other side of town.

[denimglen]

do flourescent lights skunk beer?

I would think so, I believe most of their wavelength is close to the UV range.

These vessels are just a cheaper option.

I was under the impression that clear glass was more expensive than brown?

why put the same info on the box that is all ready on the bottle?

So the consumer doesn't have to open the box to read about the beer, or if the bottle is removed from the box the information is taken with it.

On a side note to the side note it's annoying how some brewers (both big and small breweries) don't put any real info about the beer on their label. I don't need wanky descriptions about artisan water or organic malts or whatever's in fashion. But just putting 'pale ale' or 'stout' on the label is no help. Is it an American pale ale, English, Belgian? Dry stout, sweet stout, FES, RIS?

Anywaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay - I've read somewhere that some hop extracts used don't skunk the same way real hops do. So some beers may get away with clear glass. I'll try and dig up the info and post here.

[Andrew]

"just putting 'pale ale' or 'stout' on the label is no help"
Well - one problem is as soon as one classifies ones product, an expectation is created and a yard stick is thrown up. We experience this all the time when trying to classify music acts - not to mention our beers.
One good thing about clear glass is that a whole lot of deffinition happens at a glance.

[denimglen]

'one problem is as soon as one classifies ones product, an expectation is created and a yard stick is thrown up.'

That's kinda the point though.

Surely a brewer has enough pride, knowledge and confidence in their product to be able to classify it?

I mean, if I'm standing looking at beers at the shop and I feel like a hoppy American beer I'm not just gonna take a pot shot and grab the first 'pale ale' I see, as above there's quite a few different things it could be. Sure, no need to give an exact style on the front label but if not, it would be nice to see 'American style pale ale brewed US hops' or similar on the back.

It's not as if the style guidelines are extremely strict. And of course subjectiveness plays a part but as I see it that's why the guidelines include a list of commercial beers of that style.

Anyway, not having a massive cry about it or anything, just sayin'.

[Andrew]

Ok - my next beer is gonna be called 'Cryin Shame' - dissapointment ale. Enough to make you wail - or wag your tail - and if all else fails, to fill your sails.....

[Stu McKinlay]

we can classify yeastie boys... just generally not in terms that other people take the time to read (or can stomach) ;-)

"the NZ pale ale with the guts none of the rest of them show" offended a couple of people

"hoppy new world Belgian-style amber ale" is a bit long for a tap badge.

and "people argue whether it's a black ipa or a hoppy porter" had to be in such a small font that it is hard to read

[Andrew]

What I can't fathom, is why the beer geeks can't relish the challange to classify the beer themselves - if they really need to. I would have thought that anyone passionate about beer is probably open minded enough to appreciate most of the styles - unlike your average db drinker.
If I had my way it'd be and horn tankards and beer from the barrel and you get what we got and you just have a bloody good time and be done with it!

[Greig McGill]

If I had my way it'd be and horn tankards and beer from the barrel and you get what we got and you just have a bloody good time and be done with it!

Bang on! The best times I've had in my (drinking) life were exactly that. The Frühlingsfest in Munich for example. Kindof a smaller version of Oktoberfest, where I think Alex and I were the only English speakers there! The beer - Augustiner Helles - was of truly excellent quality, and it flowed like the nectar of the gods. Who cared what style it was? The experience was in the convivial atmosphere of shared consumption and the geniality it produced.

That said, there's a time and a place for classification. I'd suggest it's at the supermarket, as denimglen implied, where the bottle itself is likely to be your only method of making an informed choice, and your reasons for purchasing might be for quiet contemplation and enjoyment at home. At a pub, especially a brewpub, classification is less important. Good staff will know all about the beers, and can impart that knowledge clearly and with enthusiasm. The best staff will give you a taste first.

Best of both worlds?

[Martin townshend]

I see Haagen have a real ale out, at least that is what is says on the bottle. Its about as close to a real ale as a Sav Blanc is to a whiskey.
Good luck to anyone who only buys beer in this country by what it says on the label!
If we were to enter any of our range of beers in this yrs awards, it would be prudent and sensible for us to send samples to a beer judge or similar developed palate to enquire which categoies to enter them into.
Stuff the styles. If its a nice drop, its a nice drop.