Pittsburgh Brewing Co. and Alcoa have jointly developed an aluminum beer bottle. The announcement follows a history of innovation between the two companies, which led to the first pull-top can in 1962 — a major innovation in the beer and soft-drink industries.
The new “Iron City” aluminum beer bottles use three times as much aluminum as traditional beer cans, and Pittsburgh-based Pittsburgh Brewing claims they keep beer cold for almost an hour longer than do glass bottles.
Pittsburgh Brewing says aluminum bottles cost more than twice as much as their glass counterparts (or about a nickel more per beer). But Alcoa and the brewery say the cost will come down if other beer companies follow suit. The cost of a 24-pack will be US$1 more than a case of 24 bottles.
“This aluminum beer bottle delivers many benefits to retailers and consumers,” says Joseph Piccirilli, vice chairman of Pittsburgh Brewing Co. “The product is unbreakable and the beer stays colder longer — up to fifty minutes longer, versus glass containers. And tests indicate that consumers think the sleek, silver-metallic look of the aluminum bottle is cool.”
The new bottles are made by CCL Container in Hermitage, Penn., using Alcoa aluminum.
It’s not the first time Alcoa has teamed up with the local brewery to launch a product. In 1962, the companies put the first pull-tab beer cans on shelves, allowing beer drinkers to leave their openers at home.
Alcoa hopes to win back a share of the market it lost to beer bottles, both glass and plastic, which are now common at North American sporting events.
About 40% of all beer consumed comes out of cans, versus 43% from bottles and 8% from from draught taps. However, over the previous 10 years, bottles have gained in popularity.
Plastic bottles make up only 0.5% of all beer sales, and plastic bottles have been problematic at some bottling plants because they are lighter than glass and can become “jumbled” in production.
But having aluminum bottles at sporting events could introduce the product to thousands and result in subsequent sales.
The aluminum bottle is not exactly new. Big Sky Brewing, based in Missoula, Mont., is using aluminum bottles for its Moose Drool brown ale. And Amsterdam-based Heineken released a limited-edition aluminum bottle last year.
Aluminum bottles have proved successful for a few breweries in Japan, but Iron City is the first company in North America to ship the bottles nationally.
Pittsburgh Brewing, which sells about 6 million cases of beer annually, has launched a 6-figure marketing campaign designed to make the idea stick.
About twenty-thousand 24-pack cases of the new aluminum bottle beer are available in roughly 28 states throughout the U.S. It is not known when, or if, the bottles will find their way into Canada.
Pittsburgh Brewing has no plans to drop glass bottles or cans from production.
— The preceding is from an information bulletin published by Pittsburgh-based Alcoa.
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