Beer in smaller bottles

[JAZ]

Years ago, my sister used to buy "Coronitas" -- Corona beer in smaller bottles -- 7 or 8 ounces, as I recall. I was never a fan of Corona, and at the time the idea struck me as a marketing gimmick.

Now, however, I often find myself wanting just a small beer; 12 ounces is too much, and I either have to waste 4 or 5 ounces or find some way to cook with it. (Actually, come to think of it, my parents often used to split a beer before dinner. At the time, I thought it was cheap; now I think it's great. If I had someone to split a beer with, it would save a lot of beer.)

So, two questions: do any decent breweries bottle beer in anything smaller than 12 ounces? And if not, why not?

[rlibkind]

The last U.S. beer I recall seeing in smaller bottles was Rolling Rock's 7-ounce ponies. I doubt Anheuser-Busch InBev has continued that tradition, though I'd love to be proved wrong.

[Peter the eater]

Molson makes Cold Shots in 250 ml (= 8.5 ounce US) cans. It's a pale lager with 6% etOH and tastes like strong Budweiser.

[feedmec00kies]

Yes, there are decent microbreweries producing beers in "nips" or otherwise small bottles, but they are usually reserved for strong styles like eisbochs and are usually special releases.

Kuhnhenn Raspberry Eisbock is the first one that I can think of. It comes in a 6.3 oz bottle.

There are more, but I don't know them off the top of my head. I can take a picture of my boyfriend's little collection of empty nips when I get home, but those are probably all special releases and some of them are 20+ years old. I'll pick his brain for more information.

edit: should be "...strong styles with low yields like eisbochs..."

Edited May 19, 2009 by feedmec00kies (log)

[feedmec00kies]

I should add that the reason it's uncommon is that it's more expensive; bottling lines need to be able to accommodate smaller bottles (or else they are hand-bottled) and the bottles themselves are, IIRC, more expensive as well.

[Varmint]

Oh my god, I spent many a weekend night polishing off a case of Little Kings cream ale with my best friend, BEFORE hitting the bars. Ah, the good ol' days of youthful debauchery.

[jesskidden]

I suppose it depends on the regional market, but most of the majors brewers still sell beer in the 7 ounce bottles in NJ - as can be seen on the Total Wine Cherry Hill price list under "Popular Domestic Brews" (last page) - looks like Bud, Bud Light, Coors Light, Miller Lite, Rolling Rock, etc. A few also come in 8 ounce cans. The previous page (8) also lists Heineken 7 oz'ers and the aforementioned "Coronitas". (Of course, this is probably of no interest to the OP, who specified "decent breweries" ).

In the "craft brewery" world, the 7 ounce bottle is relatively rare. Anchor used to use it for Old Foghorn, and Rogue had them for a few of their high ABV beers, as well (Imperial Stout and Barleywine, IIRC). Currently, Flying Dog also puts out some 7 ounce bottles, again higher ABV beers, since they wound up owning a brewery in Maryland that for a time brewed and bottled the famed "Little Kings Cream Ale" in the 7 ounce "nips" (aka "ponies")- Frederick, which was owned by now-defunct "Snyder International", that at the time also owned the old Hudepohl-Schoenling brands.

Edited May 23, 2009 by jesskidden (log)

[avant-garde]

My favorite size bottles are the 11.2 ounce bottles. I know it's not a great deal smaller than the 12oz, but I find it's the perfect amount of beer to fit in one glass. And some beers are so extreme that you really only need that much anyway. For example, I always opt for the small four packs of Duchess de Bourgogne instead of the large 750ml bottle. And I think it's easier to keep the beer fresher when you're drinking alone.

[Diana]

That's a great idea; I also wish that restaurants would serve half-glasses of wine. For us light-weights, that would be the perfect amount of wine!

[Carlovski]

Can't say I find bigger beers a problem!

The 'Stubby' is popular in Australia - makes sense as it can be drunk before it gets to warm. In the UK you get a lot of supermarket onw label beers available in this format, but it's fairly industrial stuff as a rule. The only 'good' beers generally available in small bottles tend to be packaged that way because they are very strong - which ay defeat the purpose.

[Doodad]

Bud still has the ponies and many foreign beers, especially Belgian, come in smaller bottles.

[ChefCrash]

I should add that the reason it's uncommon is that it's more expensive; bottling lines need to be able to accommodate smaller bottles (or else they are hand-bottled) and the bottles themselves are, IIRC, more expensive as well.

Not to mention that 8 ounces of beer is just enough to piss me off.