One of the significant worries we have is, “does the bottle color affect the beer quality?” To get grips with this, we will explore green bottle beer brands and the reasons for the color of the bottle.
In this article, we will compare brown and green bottle beer brands. We will also check the reasons why the green bottle is the real deal. Finally, we will go through the history of glass beer bottles to understand the evolution of the current beer bottles.
Let’s seek to understand the real deal between brown beer bottles, green beer bottles, clear glass, and even metal bottles (cans). Brown or green are the colors most people associate with beers, and the iconic green bottles have been available since the mid-19th century.
What are the Green bottle beer brands?
The beer brands with green bottles include the worldwide giant Heineken; most german beers; Belgian beer Stella Artois; premium pilsners from Europe such as Czech Republic’s Staropramen, Pilsner Urquell, Carlsberg from Denmark; and a few domestic (U.S.) beers such as Rolling Rock and Moosehead. Beck’s and Peroni are the other green bottle top-rated brands.
The biggest and most well-known green bottle beer brand is Heineken. The brand is sold in almost every country in the world, having licensed breweries on virtually every continent. The green color is so relatable to this beer to the point of decorating the cans of Heineken in the now-famous Heineken green colors. The green glass bottles of Heineken are excellent for aesthetic and marketing purposes.
It is important to note that new brands and brands that have existed for a long time may have the green bottle. The following are the 11 brands with green beer bottles:
| Beer Brand | Beer type | First produced | Current Brewery |
| Heineken | Dutch Pale lager | 1873 | Heineken N.V., Netherlands |
| Carlsberg | European Pale Lager | 1847 | Carlsberg Group, Denmark |
| Stella Artois | Belgian lager | 1926 | Anheuser-Busch InBev, Belgium |
| Moosehead | Golden lager | 1867 | Moosehead Breweries, Canada |
| Beck’s | Pilsner | 1873 | Anheuser-Busch InBev, Bremen- Germany |
| Rolling Rock | Extra pale lager | 1939 | Anheuser-Busch InBev, Latrobe- Pennsylvania |
| Tuborg | Lager beer | 1873 | Carlsberg Group, Denmark |
| Yuengling | Traditional Lager | 1829 | Yuengling Brewery, United States |
| Staropramen | Traditional Czech Pilsner | 1871 | Molson Coors, United States |
| Pilsner Urquell | Bohemian / Czech Pilsner style | 1842 | Pilsner Urquell Brewery, Czech Republic |
| Bavaria beer | Top-fermented wheat beer | 1719 | Bavaria Brewery, Netherlands |
Many breweries had previously changed from green and clear bottles to brown bottles. However, as a result of WWII, there was a shortage of brown glass bottles making several beer companies for a period to revert to bottles made of green glass. Afterward, the companies retained the green bottle since it had become a trademark and associated with premium (expensive or higher-quality) beer.
Most German beers including Beck’s regular and Beck’s Light come in green bottles. This is to honor tradition and conformity to the universally accepted German brewing laws. The green beer bottle brands from Germany are known not only for the most iconic beers but also for some of their most enduring beer styles.
Dos Equis Lager Especial an import from Mexico with a green beer bottle, is a golden pilsner-style beer made from spring water and premium hops. The beer with 4.2% alcohol by volume gives you balanced, biscuit, crisp, fresh, and smooth tasting notes.
Why is Stella Artois in green bottles?
The green glass bottle was widely adopted by European breweries during the shortage of brown glass bottles occasioned by WWII. The beer is sold in green beer bottles throughout the world.
Even the Leuven Brewed beer switched from brown to green glass beer bottles recently. The green beer bottle differentiates the Belgian lager from other beers in the Belgian market which has brown bottles.
The green bottle is more exclusive. It gives an impression of high-quality and imported European lager. The beer in the green beer bottle will retain the same quality and price.
History of Glass beer bottle
As well known, beer has been with us for ages. It was first produced before pasteurization and sterilization techniques were discovered in the early civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia. That takes the early known production was about 5,000 years to the Sumerians of ancient Mesopotamia.
The first glass bottle was also made in Mesopotamia at around 1500 B. C. However the bottle was made for ointments and oils by Egyptians in ancient times.
However, at that time, the bottles were not used for alcoholic drinks. Beer was bottled in glass bottles as far back as the 16th Century. However, the commercial bottling of beer started in the 17th Century.
The original beer bottles were green in color since the production companies at the time did not have advanced glass production techniques that remove impurities including ferrous irons. However, in the 1930s, most breweries noted that brown or darker beer bottles were able to filter out some light (UV rays) which preserved the beer for longer.
Why Brown Bottles and Green Bottles
As discussed above, the brown bottles block out the Ultraviolet rays that ensure that you can store beer for longer. However, brown bottles were quite scarce during and after World War 2 necessitating the use of green bottles.
The companies which took up green bottles made the green bottle a status symbol for many European breweries. Therefore, premium and high-value beers were bottled in green bottles which have persisted till today.
In the market today, beer bottle colors include clear, green, and brown. The advanced techniques of UV rays filtration are used to ensure beer lasts for a long time even when bottled in green or clear bottles. The application of transparent, UV-protected coats to the glass to keep beer fresh protects the beer from going skunky.
Glass is an excellent way to maintain the beer taste fresh since it keeps your favorite ale, lager, or IPA fresh and thus doesn’t go stale. The glass protects your beer from most external alterations. Therefore, the glass bottle keeps the beer aroma retained inside while also ensuring that the beer is not oxidized by oxygen which would otherwise react with the beer without the glass bottle.
Why are German beers in green bottles?
There are two main reasons why German Beers come in green bottles. The reasons are:
- There was a brown glass shortage during and after World War II, which led to the use of green or clear glass beer bottles by European brewers.
- Green glass bottles after WWII became associated with premium (more expensive or higher-quality) beer.
Therefore, even though after WWII the brown beer glass bottle was readily available, some of the German and European beer giants had created iconic brands of green bottle beer. Therefore, green glass is used to denote their higher quality beer currently.
Moreover, German beer companies were able to adopt the modern transparent UV rays filter which can keep beer fresh even though it is not bottled in brown bottles. This has made several German breweries remain true to their roots to honor tradition and for marketing purposes.
Green beer bottle brands Australia
There are a number of Australian green bottle beer brands. Some of them produce their beers in a mix of green and brown bottles depending on the variant.
Some of the green bottle beer brands from Australia include Cascade Premium Lager, Pure Blonde beer, and Hahn Ultra Crisp among others
Cascade Premium Lager is an American Adjunct Lager-style beer with pine, citrus, and floral undertones with moderate bitterness (“grapefruity”). Cascade is brewed by Cascade Brewery Company Ltd. in Hobart, Australia.
Pure Blonde, on the other hand, is the first Australian Ultra Low Carbohydrate beer brewed by Pacific Beverages Pte Ltd. Pure Blonde is a beer made with the finest ingredients to make a refreshing, easy-drinking, full-flavored lager that is brewed with no preservatives. The light, crisp, aromatic lager that delivers a superior taste is the beer of choice for carb-conscious Aussies.
Hahn Ultra Crisp which is brewed by Hahn Brewery, Australia is an easy-drinking, lower-carb lager. The beer is cleaner and crisp tasting due to the revolutionary process that is used to brew the beer. The Hahn Ultra Crisp beer is made using Japanese rice giving you 99% sugar-free, preservative-free & gluten-free well-crafted lower-carb beer.
Does Beer in a Green Glass Bottle Taste Different?
With the current bottling technology, there is definitely no change in the beer taste even if it is stored in a green or clear beer bottle. Yes, brown bottles are known for filtering out UV rays but the current technology also equips clear and green bottles to filter the rays.
The original clear glass or green bottle could not sufficiently filter out the UV rays leading to beer skunking. However, this is not experienced with the current beer bottles. The beers in green bottles have been shown to currently be as protected as the brown bottle beers.
Different beers have different tastes. Thus the difference in taste is not squarely dependent on the beer bottle but on the taste acquired when brewing the beer.
Conclusion
The beer bottle color does not indicate whether the beer is susceptible to the skunk. This is because there are clear UV protection coats available for glass suppliers to use on clear or green beer bottles.
However, we all understand that light is the enemy number one for your beer freshness. Therefore, dark storage of beer is recommended to minimize instances of skunking or turning bad. This is the reason why brown glass bottles are the ideal color for beer bottling since it offers the ultimate protection against UV rays.
Heineken, Stella Artois, Carlsberg, and other beer brands come in green beer bottles. Heineken lager beer is one of the green bottled beers which is very tasty. It has a deep golden color. Moreover, Heineken lager tastes stronger than most mass-produced lagers even though it is light on the palate and easy to drink.
Sources
https://punchdrink.com/articles/on-that-green-saison-craft-beer-bottle-tip/
