Belhaven brewery bottles

[Blue-Frog]

Does anyone know if the Belhaven brewery bottles are officially "reuseable"?

I see they are deposite bottles, but that may or may not indicate much. There is also an double arrow; not sure if it is for recycle or reuse though.

Confusing... looks like made in Scottland but possibly bottled in the US(?)

 

[magno]

Reusable for homebrew purposes? Or for reuse at the brewery? I only ask because you mention the icon on the bottle and the deposit.

I'm not sure that they are bottled in the US. What tips you off to that?

Is there something that makes you think that the bottles are not suitable for homebrew? Seems like they would be to me.

 

[beermanpete]

It seems like none of common bottels use for the domstic beer in the US are "officially reusable" as they are not collected and refilled by the breweries. They are frequently resued by homebrewers with good results. What is your concern about reusing the bottles?

 

[Blue-Frog]

Reusable for homebrew purposes? Or for reuse at the brewery? I only ask because you mention the icon on the bottle and the deposit.

I'm not sure that they are bottled in the US. What tips you off to that?

Is there something that makes you think that the bottles are not suitable for homebrew? Seems like they would be to me.

Sorry for responding slowly.

I have a lot of bottles and want to throw some out but keep the "better" ones... so I am just trying to understand why there needs to be two classes of bottles if they are all "reuseable".

I recall seeing the phrase "brewed (or manufactured) and bottled in..." a zilliion times, perhaps from the softdrink industry but it only says "brewed in..."

plus

it contains info on bottle deposit,
which as far as I knew, was only for reusable bottles... I dunno maybe today places take deposit on throw aways?

 

[Blue-Frog]

It seems like none of common bottels use for the domstic beer in the US are "officially reusable" as they are not collected and refilled by the breweries. They are frequently resued by homebrewers with good results. What is your concern about reusing the bottles?

Hummm, I just wonder why someone would want to reuse a bottle that a pro brewery wouldn't (isn't allowed to?) reuse.

My concern is that I am not seeing the whole picture.

 

[beermanpete]

I think the bottles are not reused by commercial brewers due to economic considerations. New bottles might be cheaper than washing used bottles and there is likely less spoilage due to bottles that did not clean well. There could be regulations that prohibit reuse as well depending on the region. As home brewers we have different economic considerations nor are required to adhere to food safety regulations. If you want to select bottles from a group I suggest choosing the heavier bottles as there is more glass so they should be stronger. Also, your capping tool may dictate a particular neck shape to prefer or avoid.

 

[brewgar]

^ +1

 

[ancientmariner52]

Many bottles are marked with deposit requirements of various state laws. The idea is that the bottles will be returned for proper disposal or recycling, rather than refilling.

There is a canoe outfitter here in the Ozarks that used to collect a deposit even on cans, simply to keep people from tossing them in the river.