Will you stop drinking bottled beer?

[The Voice of Reason]

I was wondering what the green perspective is on glass bottles?

we know it is a reusable resource, and recyclable and all that, but the process of recycling is very energy intensive. also the process of making glass in the first place is very energy intensive.

there, as of now is no great movement to end the use of glass bottles, but if we are really honest about the environmental impacts of any individually wrapped(or bottled or canned or.....) product.

I say buy bulk... use a growler from your local brewery, but thats just because I love the craft beers.

[Neo]

We're obviously not going to run out of resources to make glass considering the amount available, but it doesn't make glass any better for the environment. I'd say aluminum cans are much better in terms of recycling than glass bottles so I would use that option instead.

Perhaps a better way to recycle glass bottles would be to simply crush them (more energy efficient than heating them back up) and use them as aggregate in concrete for example. It is used in some marble making and other products as well. Obviously the marble making requires it to be heated back up but at least it can be used I suppose.

Obviously be best option is to just get it from the tap. The next best thing is buy it in bulk (large container).

[suburban george3]

Aluminum is the better option, at least in concern of fuel costs for shipping as it weighs less than the similar sized glass container. I recycle everything and all restaurants/bars must recycle in our state now. I don't think bottled beer is going anywhere..

[The Voice of Reason]

Aluminum is the better option, at least in concern of fuel costs for shipping as it weighs less than the similar sized glass container. I recycle everything and all restaurants/bars must recycle in our state now. I don't think bottled beer is going anywhere..

[suburban george3]

Shipping might be the biggest problem. so drink local and drink tap beer.

[monsoon]

I was wondering what the green perspective is on glass bottles?

we know it is a reusable resource, and recyclable and all that, but the process of recycling is very energy intensive. also the process of making glass in the first place is very energy intensive......

[nashvillwill]

I have though about this some, but here is the conclusion i have come to. I do make an effort to drink draft beer, however there are very few domestic brands that i enjoy. Therefore, when i go out i tend to frequent places that have a large selection of specialty drafts.

When it comes to home use, I tend to buy bottles. There are virtually no brands that i enjoy that come in cans. However, i always recycle the bottles.

As far as buying local, we have a micro in Nashville called Yazoo that distributes locally that i really enjoy! I try to keep them in my regular rotation of stock.

[Twoaday]

Sure. It seems like that should generally be easy enough to do. Of course I've always been more of a vodka person anyhow:)

[N1P]

The fact is that Stainless Steel kegs are the best way to preserve good beer. Aluminum cans are second place with glass bottles being only superior to wood kegs.

Ultraviolet light is the number 1 enemy of beer. It produces the skunky taste that old beer gets. Oxygen is the second worst enemy. Bottles typically are not filled as full as cans thus allowing head space that allows oxygen to come in contact with the beer. Heat is next, the mass of a keg makes it the winner here. Slow to change in temp. Cans get second because of the symetrical shape that allows them to be in a closer proximity to each other approaching the mass of a keg.

So it boils down to the fact that there is not enough good beer in cans. Fear not that is changing.

[dpbaker]

Not a huge beer fan, but if I do drink it, I prefer bottles - cans taste funky to me. I know bottles can be energy-intensive to make. Anybody know side-by-side which consumes more energy overall to manufacture?

[Neo]

Not a huge beer fan, but if I do drink it, I prefer bottles - cans taste funky to me. I know bottles can be energy-intensive to make. Anybody know side-by-side which consumes more energy overall to manufacture?

It takes much less energy and uses less water to recycle aluminum than glass, plus it is the biggest money maker for recyclers which help subsidize the recycling of other materials (i.e. paper). Aluminum also weighs less thus the transportation costs are lower I would imagine.

[orulz]

Monsoon already mentioned this, but glass bottles can actually be the most efficient containers from an energy perspective - but that is only if you wash and reuse them, rather than recycle them. That's something that struck me when I traveled in Sweden. All the soft drinks, seltzers, juices, etc. were in glass - not plastic or aluminum. Not sure about beer to be honest, but I don't see why not.

If you make it so you get a $.10 deposit back for every glass bottle you return, then that's more than enough incentive to actually return them. (I know I'd do it.) Problem is, I guess, there are a bunch of different shapes of bottle, but there's gotta be some way to sort through them. Anyway, I think that we should go back to glass bottles for sodas, beer, everything - institute a system of reusing them, only recycling them when they come back in poor condition.

[N1P]

. . . I think that we should go back to glass bottles for sodas, beer, everything - institute a system of reusing them, only recycling them when they come back in poor condition.

[Neo]

I suppose a better question would be which is more damaging to the environment if people don't recycle. I purchased a recycling bin that is bright blue and is embossed with the recycling logo on it and put it in my department at work. My co-workers are just feet from it yet they continue to use the regular trash bin. I typically go around and dig through their trash. FWIW we also recycle paper and have bins for this but very few people take part in the practice. Considering how easy I've made it at work and cities have made it at home, I don't expect most to recycle beer bottles or cans.

I would imagine that in the end glass would be better for the environment if it doesn't get recycled, but I'm worried about the energy it takes to produce it originally.

[Neo]

Here is a great video I found on Youtube about bottled water:

[The Voice of Reason]

I think people should buy more 22oz beers. I would say for my part 40% of my beer consumption is on tap or in growler form, 25% in the form of 22oz bottles or 750ml bottles bought from the store and sadly the rest being 12 oz bottles of newcastle or sam adams or whatever. although I have an 18 pack of those draught Guiness cans in the fridge right now. I fell like something like beer is the hardest to change. I am going to have to build a 3 tap bar in my next house so I can have some variety and also keep the waste down. its amazing hum much crap I bring to the reccling bins each week.

the paper waste from bills and such is crazy. bottles are plentiful, and food cans(beans, olives, and a bunch of asian stir fry ingredients. the amount of waste that we create bothers me.

at leask I rock out on the water front. tap water at home, and a re-usable cup at work. I even brew my own coffee with a french press from the bubbler to avoid all that waste. (and its cheaper and much much better coffee)

soooo, back to my beer...

[sharkdawg]

I lived in Mexico for a while was impressed to find out that they used the reuse method. First of all most people would purchase 32 oz bottles. The first time you purchase it there is a surcharge. Then when you go back to buy more beer, you exchange the empties. The empties are then cleaned and refilled. If I remember correctly most of the 32 oz bottles were printed directly on the glass, no paper labels. This made all the sense in the world to me. I am sure this practice is used in other countries as well.

Fortunately for me, I am a home brewer, and brew my beers straight into a keg which sits in a kegerator. Bottling beers sucks. I used to go scavenge through peoples recylcing bins for used bottles, which I would clean and sanitize before using.

[sean]

I'll give up my {bottled beers} when you take it from my cold, dead hands. ...

many contemporary craft beers are bottled in re-used or re-usable bottles. i think that practice will become widespread as costs prohibit throw away glass bottles.