Questions You Should Know about Aluminum Beer Bottles

As with any impassioned community, beer aficionados have had their share of debates, exchanges, and straight-up brawls over their beloved brews. There’s the ever-shifting continuum of what distinguishes a craft brewery from a micro- or nano-brewery. There are ongoing arguments on whether we can sensibly discuss a beer’s terroir when, unlike wine, the ingredients are several and their origins numerous. Then there are the friendship-ending fracases over fruit’s place in beer.

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But perhaps no question has spurred more passion, more debate, and more questions than: Is it better to store beer in cans or bottles?

Crusaders for cans argue that the light leaking through the transparent bottles causes beer’s chemical compounds to decompose faster, leading the brew to take on a skunky aroma* — or, if you want to sound poetic about it, become “lightstruck.” Meanwhile, bottle boosters claim that cans leave a tinny taste and leach heat from the environment to the beer too easily. The can crusaders snap back that aluminum cans have a polymer lining to prevent flavor contamination, and you should pour your drink into a chilled glass anyway. And on and on.

Who’s correct? Researchers recently decided to put the question to the chemical test. They performed metabolic profiles on samples of an amber ale and an India pale ale (IPA) housed in each type of container. And they discovered that the answer is more complicated than an either-or choice.

It’s all about the beer research

All beer is essentially water, ethanol, and thousands of flavor compounds poured into a glass. But those flavor compounds — which come from the unique combination of hops, yeast, malt, and any additives incorporated by the brewer at various stages of the brewing process — are what give each beer its distinctive flavor profile. That profile obviously includes taste but also encompasses qualities such as aroma, color, clarity, and texture. Each plays a role in the experience of enjoying a beer.

However, from the time it’s brewed to the time it reaches your family barbecue or local taphouse, many factors can affect a beer’s chemical profile. These include temperature fluctuations, travel agitation, oxygen pick-up, and natural metabolic processes. These factors can make the beer you crack open at home taste markedly different from the brewer’s intent. How beer is packaged determines how protected the inner brew is, meaning both brewers and beer drinkers have an interest in determining whether cans or bottles are the superior choice.

Enter Kathryn Fromuth and Jacquelin Chaparro, researchers from Colorado State University. To test this question, they secured IPA and amber ale batches from New Belgium Brewing Company. Both styles were housed in cans and brown bottles, and to mimic the storage conditions of a typical market beer, stored under cold conditions for 30 days and then at room temperature for 150 days. Then, biweekly over six months, the researchers opened a can and bottle of each style and analyzed their metabolites.

All told, the researchers collected 13 timepoints for each sample to observe the metabolic variation — that is, how the beers within the cans and bottles broke down or formed new compounds as they aged. The study was published in ACS Food Science & Technology.

The taste you’re looking for?

The results: amber ale showed significant metabolic variation between the cans and bottles. Specifically, the bottled amber ale maintained a significantly higher concentration of esters, yeast-derived compounds that react with water to produce alcohols and acids during fermentation. These esters are what give ales their fruity aromas and flavors. If you’ve ever enjoyed an ale’s apple, pear, or even spicy taste, you likely have an ester to thank.

But esters are highly volatile, too. They are susceptible to oxidation and will leap from the beer into the atmosphere at the first opportunity. As such, the researchers hypothesize that the reason for the can-bottle discrepancy in amber ales comes from greater air exposure when the cans are being sealed. 

“A reduction of esters will result in an overall dampening of flavor, whereas the formation of esters will impart unintended aromas,” the researchers write.

Conversely, the canned and bottled IPAs showed far less metabolic variation. The researchers hypothesize that the reason for the difference comes from the abundance of polyphenols found in the IPA. Because polyphenols sport antioxidative properties, they help keep flavor compounds locked in place by protecting against oxidation. And while both brew styles use hops in their recipe, IPAs are far and away the hop-heavier brews.

These data make sense given the style’s history. Despite the name, IPAs did not emerge in India. Like many other ale styles, they started life in Britain. In the 18th century, Britain shipped beers to its colonies all over the world, but those bound for India were often spoiled by the time they docked. The rocking conditions on the ships, the temperatures of the tropical seas, and the inability to control wild yeasts devastated the potability of ales that were more at home in Britain’s temperate climate.

Absent the technology to create more sterile, refrigerated conditions, brewers of the day super-hopped their recipes to take advantage of the acids from the resin of the hops strobiles (or cones). The acids killed unwanted bacteria, while the polyphenols preserved the beer. As a bonus, the essential oils spiced the beer with the intense flavors the style is known for today — such as pine, citrus, and tropical fruits.

While the researchers were unable to perform taste tests to determine how these variations affected either style’s flavor, their data do suggest that cans cause ambers to depart much more from the brewer’s intended flavor profile.

“Taken together, the results of this study do not support the conclusion of a general best package for all beer styles but rather indicate that the effects of package type are dependent on beer style,” the researchers concluded. “Continued work to define the mechanisms driving the effects of package type on beer stability is warranted and would require integration with sensory outcomes.”

An old question in a new bottle (or can)

While taste may be king, it’s not the only consideration when determining whether cans or bottles are the best choice. For example, breweries must consider the costs and shipping of their product. Because glass bottles are heavier and require more robust secondary packaging, they can be the costlier of the two to transport. On the other hand, glass is made of recycled materials and silica, meaning its production leaves a relatively smaller environmental footprint. Even when containing recycled aluminum, cans still require new metals to be mined and produced.

As such, there is no right answer to the can-vs.-bottle debate. Many factors are at play, both inside and outside the container. And because beer’s flavor begins to change as soon as it is packaged, even if slightly, the only true solution is to get your beer from the brewery as soon as you can.

But by setting aside the false dilemma of beers vs. cans and focusing on the qualities of the beers themselves, brewers, beer lovers, and researchers not only will have one less thing to fight about, they’ll also have better beer to celebrate with.

*Author’s note: Of course, not all bottles are created equal. Clear- and green-colored glass truly are inferior vessels for storing beer because their transparency lets in large amounts of light. This is why many brewers use brown bottles, which are less permeable and less likely to lead to skunky beer.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of Aluminum Beer Bottles. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

Can you guess the answer?

Sprecher has been slinging beer in iconic brown glass bottles since . In January of , all of that will change, and Sprecher brews will find a new home in sleek aluminum cans. This has many longtime fans asking, why? Is beer better in cans or bottles? To answer the question, it’s worth thinking about taste, convenience, and environmental impact.

Taste

When it comes to beer, taste is the number one concern at Sprecher. So does beer taste better from cans or bottles? The answer is, neither. Beer tastes better when poured into a glass.

Our perception of flavor relies on a combination of senses–taste, smell, mouthfeel, sight, and possibly even sound (consider the satisfying sound of a can opening). When you drink from a can or a bottle, your nose misses the beer completely, and you cannot see the color of the beer, admire the foamy head, or listen to the sound of rising bubbles during a good pour. Put a beer in a proper glass, and you are getting the full sensory experience. Plus, who doesn’t love drinking beer from a hefty stein or a classy snifter? It just elevates the experience.

Still, you’re not always going to have a glass handy. So how do bottles and cans compare on taste? Some complain that canned beer tastes metallic. However, brewers started lining their beer cans with food-safe plastic to prevent metallic off-taste in the s, and they haven’t stopped since. If you are tasting metal, it’s because you’re smelling the can. So stop doing that, it’s weird! [1]

Bottles have a different taste problem. Unlike cans, bottles let a little light in. When UV light from the sun hits beer, it can cause chemical changes that result in an unpleasant taste. The term for the resulting product is–I kid you not–skunky beer (or ‘lightstruck beer’ if you’re a nerd). Brown bottles provide pretty good protection, followed by green bottles, with clear bottles obviously being the worst of all (sorry, Zima). Brown bottles are all well and good, but no glass provides better protection from skunkiness than a can. [2]

The verdict on taste: as long as you are not a can-sniffer, cans win out on taste. However, you should really be pouring your beer into a glass. Beers poured from a bottle or a can into a glass taste equally good, as long as they haven’t been skunked. Around here, we believe a Sprecher pint glass provides the best taste experience of all. But there’s more to the equation than taste.

Convenience

What about convenience? Sometimes beer sits around in your fridge, but beer is happiest when it travels places. It likes to go to parties, campouts, fishing trips, or wherever else you are going with friends. When you’re on the road with your brews, are bottles or cans better?

In this department, bottles have some major issues. They are heavy. They break, and nobody likes to open their trunk to find glass and beer all over the back of the car. This also makes them a no-go on most beaches and campgrounds. Finally, glass bottles can be harder to open in a pinch. Either you need a bottle opener, or you’re dealing with a twist-off. Twist-offs rate higher on convenience than regular bottle caps, but they can still come loose unexpectedly or get stuck.

Cans avoid all of these issues. Aluminum cans are lighter and much harder to damage. If you do manage to break an aluminum can, it’s probably your fault–and it won’t shatter everywhere. You can also open an aluminum can with ease, but it is unlikely to open on its own when jostled around.

The verdict on convenience:cans are lighter, less fragile, and easier to open compared to glass bottles.

Environmental Impact

The founder of Sprecher Brewery, Randy Sprecher, briefly went to school to oceanography before pursing his passion for brewing. During that time, he became aware of the harm that plastic does to the oceans, and committed to bottle all of his soda and beer in glass. Glass is easier to recycle than plastic, and has a lot to recommend it, but it’s not clear if selling beer in bottles or cans is more environmentally friendly.

Compared to glass, aluminum is more environmentally costly to mine, refine, and make into cans. However, aluminum is more likely to be recycled successfully, and its longer life cycle works towards balancing out the low initial costs of making new glass. Additionally, glass is heavier and requires more fuel to transport the same amount of liquid compared to aluminum.

The best thing to do is recycle your cans and bottles whenever possible. Encourage your local bars and restaurants to provide recycling options if they don’t already, and recycle at home if your local government offers recycling services.

The most environmentally friendly way of all to enjoy a beer is to drink draft from a reusable cup, or to bring draft beer home in a reusable growler. Kegs can be filled again and again–although emptying them is the fun part! [3]

The verdict on environmental impact: bottles and cans can both be environmentally friendly, but only if you recycle them! Better yet, drink draft beer from a reusable container.

The Bottom Line

All in all, cans have many advantages over bottles when it comes to packaging beer. Cans preserve taste better than bottles, they are more convenient, and they are easy to recycle over and over. That’s why Sprecher is making the change from brown glass bottles to aluminum cans. Whatever container your beer comes in, I recommend pouring it out into an ice-cold frosted glass, and enjoying it! Cheers!

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Sources

[1] Eddings, Bryce. “History of Beer Cans: How Did Beer End Up in a Can?” The Spruce Eats, July 22, , https://www.thespruceeats.com/beer-can-history-.

[2] Vinepair Staff. “What is Skunked Beer?” Vinepair, https://vinepair.com/beer-101/what-is-skunked-beer/.

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