How much do you pay for bottles?

It's wondering how much everyone's bee paying for bottles at their LHBS. We buy boxes of 12-22 oz bottles for $16.99

FREE!!! but some drinking may be involved.

I pack $12.99 a 12 pack for 12 ounce bottles. Of course, they come with Sam Adams beer in them (or Sierra Nevada) so I am forced to drink the beer first, but the price is right.

I don't use many 22 ounce bombers, as I only pour out of bottles than I can pour into my glass in one pour, to avoid disturbing the sediment, I do use some 22 ouncers if I'm bottling from a keg with no sediment, though.

A friend works in a Belgium beer bar so I get them for free. I don't need to buy beer for the bottles... but I do it anyway....

We just bought a little over 6,000 bottles from a manufacturer. Ends up being .04 a bottle? Got tired of paying $16.

Last time I purchased bottles, I seem to recall they were ~ $0.50 each in a case at the LHBS.

Most of my bottles came from friends, and especially interns at work. College age interns are a great supplier. Just put out the word to everyone you are looking for empty non-twist off bottles. They'll roll in and you'll probably have more than you know what to do with. I started throwing them away I was getting so many.

Not sure if TX does refunds on bottles but my local collection center will usually give me previously returned bottles for about $0.10 each.

TxBrewHouse said:

We just bought a little over 6,000 bottles from a manufacturer. Ends up being .04 a bottle? Got tired of paying $16.

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where did you get your bottles from? what is there website? thanks for the help

30 cents each for 500ml bottles.

my brother and I started drinking a ton before I started brewing. Here in Michigan there is a $.10 deposit on carbed beverages. I now have over 1800 bottles in a 3 month period and still have friends giving them to me. I also collect all the six pack holders from any beer. I soak them in hot water to remove the labels and rinse out then wash them in one step and then sanitize. So I guess I paid $180 for my bottles.

Yooper said:

I pack $12.99 a 12 pack for 12 ounce bottles. Of course, they come with Sam Adams beer in them (or Sierra Nevada) so I am forced to drink the beer first, but the price is right.

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Like Yooper, my bottles cost about $14.00 for a half-case. And then there is the issue of processing them. But it is a small price to pay for good beer. Mark

I pay 10 cents if they are filled with commercial beer
You can buy bottles at the LHBS but I don't know anyone who has done that.
When you buy, you get the following pricerange:

1+ 80+ 160+
€ 0,38 € 0,36 € 0,34

I buy the Grolsch Swing Tops for about $2 per bottle (15.2 Oz).
I actually enjoy the beer, and love the bottle. Doing it this way, I estimate the bottle costs me a premium of 50-75 cents per bottle, which is way better than buying swing tops from a Home Brew Supply store.

I have around 60 Grolsche bottle, 25 swing top 25 Oz bottles, another 30 similar sized swing tops that I dont use much because the seal is different.
So I reuse my bottles.

I also buy six packs of Stone, etc, and around 10 per 5 gallon batch, to give away.

If you are in the Minneapolis area, The Four Firkins specialty beer store gives out free bottles. They offer a lot of free tastings so they go through quite a few bottles. You'll have to remove labels, rinse/sanitize etc.

A 6 pack of good beer per week = 24 per month x 2 = 48 for 5 gallon batch. I like Beck's Beer, and the bottles are a nice dark green as well....

I buy red hook 22oz bottles of esb and ipa for around $2.30 each, drink the beer and keep the bottles. The redhook labels come off and the glue disolves with a soak in hot pbw, very easy!

ArcLight said:

I buy the Grolsch Swing Tops for about $2 per bottle (15.2 Oz).
I actually enjoy the beer, and love the bottle. Doing it this way, I estimate the bottle costs me a premium of 50-75 cents per bottle, which is way better than buying swing tops from a Home Brew Supply store.

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Damn

Overhere (where the Grolsch is coming from) we pay about 9 euro (11.50 USD) or a full crate of 16 bottels Grolsch swing top

Yup, my bottles are a steep dollar apiece, but they do come filled with my favorite craft brew of the day!

Koffie said:

Damn

Overhere (where the Grolsch is coming from) we pay about 9 euro (11.50 USD) or a full crate of 16 bottels Grolsch swing top

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Hey, do they still make the Amber Grolsch? I haven't been able to find any here for at least 3 or 4 years now.

Thanks.

Anyone looking to get away from paying for bottles, try calling restaurants around you to see if they recycle. The restaurant I work at goes through 100s of bottles a week, and they'll just be sitting around out back until the recycling place picks them up.

shelly_belly said:

Hey, do they still make the Amber Grolsch? I haven't been able to find any here for at least 3 or 4 years now.

Thanks.

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Nope. Not for local and not for export (since 2010 says Wikipedia).

I work part-time at a restaurant (~1-2 days a week) because the owner offered me a job. The perk is not the money. It's the fact that when cases of Founders or Bells bottles are ready to be recycled, I give them $4.80 and I get a case of empties that have easy-to-remove labels. You might try talking to a bar manager at a local place. They might look at you funny, but tell them it's for a good cause

bcryan said:

where did you get your bottles from? what is there website? thanks for the help

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We have a couple of businesses we own so we order from a distributor for anchor. Anyone can order minimum order is $800. Also helps to have a tax id number

My LHBS used to pay $.10 for empties and then sell them on for that same $.10 each. I bought some 300 from them before they stopped doing it. It was a great deal. You could sort through them and choose your favorite bottles. Since then, all my bottles come with beer in them.

My LHBS sells cases of 24 12 oz bottles for $14.99.

TxBrewHouse said:

We just bought a little over 6,000 bottles from a manufacturer. Ends up being .04 a bottle? Got tired of paying $16.

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TxBrewHouse said:

We have a couple of businesses we own so we order from a distributor for anchor. Anyone can order minimum order is $800. Also helps to have a tax id number

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Anyone interested in organizing a group buy?

8 bucks a case in Haltom City, TX (Fort Worth Area) at my LHBS.

Usually around $12.50 for 24 12oz bottles. Sometimes the LHBS will give me bottles that he acquired from a local brewery for free.

Craigs List is the best place to find bottle bargains.
Seven cases of Grolsch bottles...filthy...for $5 each case.

Stuff found in basements...brewers leaving the hobby...cases left behind from old tennants....so many reasons you will find bottles at great prices there.

I use Mexican Coke bottles. My employees buy the cokes at work, I keep the bottles. Foreign coca-cola is better than the US version, by the way. As long as you don't take your IPAs in the sunlight, clear bottles work fine.

$30 a case....I really need to find a new place

JayInJersey said:

$30 a case....I really need to find a new place

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$30 a case? You can get pre-filled bottles for less. I can't speak for Jersey, but my local megamart grocery store sells 12.5oz bottles of Jarritos Mexican soda for 50 cents each. The soda's not all that great, but you can pour it out and still use the bottles for beer.

deepcdan99 said:

Not sure if TX does refunds on bottles but my local collection center will usually give me previously returned bottles for about $0.10 each.

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Agree, the bottle return center is a great place to get them. I get all my grolsch style bottles there for $.05 each. Compare this to the $20/case I would pay for them at the brew shop and I make out great!

I was fortunate to get 4 plastic cases of 20 x .5 liter Bitburger German bottles for free, but I don't use them for beer I give to friends. I buy Guinness Draught and reuse those bottles for giveaways, as the plastic labels just slice off, and the beer isn't bad either.

I was thinking about going to my local Sushi Bar and asking for the "Bombers" the Japaneese beer comes in.

I figure they should be fine since a review of the lables shows that they are made here or in Canada (under license).

DPB

My LHBS is $9.95 per 24 (12 ounce). I have gotten a few cases from them but since have friends and co-workers save their Sam Adams, Moerlein, etc. bottles. Only ones I complain about is Great Lakes bottles, the glue for the label doesn't come off easily and sometimes I resort to using lacquer thinner as hot water and a scrub pad doesn't get it.

You just need to train your friends to save their empties for you!

After a while you get really good on reading between the lines: "hey do you want a bunch of empties?" really means "throw me a sixer out of your next batch." But that's what it's all about, right?

TxBrewHouse said:

We have a couple of businesses we own so we order from a distributor for anchor. Anyone can order minimum order is $800. Also helps to have a tax id number

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Verallia (Saint-Gobain Containers) started a direct-from-the-manufacturer website where you can order pallets of 12 or 22 oz bottles in bulk or in case. With shipping it looks like a pallet will only run you about $500-600 depending on the style and if you want case or bulk (about $0.35 per 22oz bottle). I've been highly tempted to contact other homebrewers I know in the area and go in on a pallet! Buying from my local homebrew store, I'm paying about $1 per 22oz bottle.

http://buyourbottles.com

Free. Buying bottles is kind of like going to a restaurant and eating spaghetti. You pay a lot for something that is actually quite cheap. With free bottles you end up with an "eclectic mix" so to speak. All sizes and shapes. But it's easy enough to keep them sorted. All that said, I rarely bottle. But since I like "bottle conditioned" beer I prime my cornies.