Did Deschutes Change Their Bottles?

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SilverZero

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Since I started brewing last year I've been exclusively using Deschutes Brewery 12oz bottles, because they're easy to get (I live in Bend, so you can't pick three people out of a line-up without finding one who has a case of Mirror Pond at home :) ) and because I love the little hops embossed around the shoulder. But I just pulled a few out of the oxyclean bath and peeled off the labels - and realized the shoulders were all smooth! These all came from a get-together we had last week, and I also noticed a few that I brought home recently from a friend's house that are similarly bare. These were all recent purchases, probably from Costco and from Safeway, which leads me to believe that they've changed their bottles. Same shape, just no hops.

I guess I don't know where I'm going with this. :drunk: But I've only got about 200 of the "classic" bottles in storage, and I bumped up from 5 to 8 gallons on my batch sizes with my last batch. I'll be bummed if this is a permanent change.
 
I just noticed the same thing de-labelling bottles today.

I don't have much to add, as most of my bottles are de-labelled, but I've got some porters with a best-by date 1/14/'13 which are hopless, and an empty Mirror Pond 07/04/'12 which does still have the hops pattern.

I generally like their recent redesign/rebranding, but it would be a shame to see those unique hoppy bottles consigned to the dustbin of history.
 
Sorry to resurrect such an old post. But I personally miss those bottles with the hop vines around the top shoulder. I still have about a case of them that I continue to refill. They are my favorite bottles and I wish Deschutes would bring them back personally...
 
Sorry to resurrect such an old post. But I personally miss those bottles with the hop vines around the top shoulder. I still have about a case of them that I continue to refill. They are my favorite bottles and I wish Deschutes would bring them back personally...

I'll have to ask Gary why they switched, I miss the style as well, but I'm guessing it's just cheaper for them with these new plain bottles. They're distributing a lot these days. I've probably got a couple hundred of them stockpiled in my garage by now. :)
 
I'll have to ask Gary why they switched, I miss the style as well, but I'm guessing it's just cheaper for them with these new plain bottles. They're distributing a lot these days. I've probably got a couple hundred of them stockpiled in my garage by now. :)

I'm assuming you're talking about Gary Fish? That would be fantastic to get an "official comment" though I expect cost is a likely factor.

If cost was/is the only factor I have to say that's too bad. Thinking about this makes me remember working with my realtor when selling my home. She talked about "curb appeal" as being a huge factor for a successful sell.

Now, I 'm not saying that those bottles were "the" selling point for me; There are plenty of other reasons to buy the delicious brews from Deschutes. That said, those bottles were a unique attribute that made that beer more memorable. (And more desirable from this home brewer's perspective.)

As a home brewer, my purchase decision is oftentimes swayed by what I think about reusing the bottle. (not always of course...) I will say that I don't purchase as much Deschutes as I used to for this one reason. I'm also pretty sure that my purchasing habits are merely a tiny drop in the revenue bucket for Deschutes. I still just really liked those things and wish they would make a comeback!
 
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