Hey, gimme an icy aluminum: Iron City debuts faster-chilling metal beer bottles

Wednesday, August 25, 2004

Pittsburgh Brewing Co. introduced a 12-ounce aluminum bottle for Iron City lager yesterday, saying it would eventually phase out glass bottles for its flagship product.

	John Beale, Post-Gazette The new aluminum bottle for Iron City beer. Click photo for larger image.

Vice Chairman Joseph Piccirilli said a case of the new bottles would cost $1 more than a case of glass bottles. For about a nickel a bottle, beer drinkers will get a package that chills faster, stays colder longer and won't break.

"It's hard to believe the best thing for your Iron would be aluminum," said Edward B. Martin, vice president of CCL Container. The Hermitage, Mercer County, company makes the bottles using aluminum produced at Alcoa plants in New York, South Carolina and Texas.

Martin said CCL had talked with other brewers about introducing aluminum bottles, but none of them were interested in moving as fast as Pittsburgh Brewing. Big Sky Brewing, a Missoula, Mont., regional brewer, introduced aluminum bottles last year.

In Europe, Heineken has been experimenting with aluminum bottles in beer served at bars and restaurants, Martin said. Anheuser-Busch, the world's largest beer maker, and Canadian brewer Molson are interested in the concept, he said.

Twelve-ounce Iron City bottles account for about 15 percent of Pittsburgh Brewing's production, and the company spent more than $300,000 to retool its bottling line to accommodate the new bottle, Piccirilli said.

The bottle, which requires an opener, weighs less than 2 ounces empty but contains about three times more aluminum than the traditional aluminum beer can. Alcoa spokesman Kevin Lowery said the additional metal was one of the reasons beer would stay colder longer, warning that holding a well-chilled can for an extended period of time "is going to hurt your hand."

"It's a package that delivers true customer benefits," Lowery said.

On the back of the bottle is a "Save Our City" message from Piccirilli. It's part of an advertising campaign sponsored by the brewery aimed at generating ideas for reviving Pittsburgh, which faces a budget crisis and other tough issues. Piccirilli declined comment on the campaign.

He did say the brewery would do its part to aid ailing Pittsburgh by making a long-overdue payment next month to resolve unpaid water and sewer bills dating to 1996.

Under a court-approved settlement, Pittsburgh Brewing will have to make a balloon payment of nearly $4 million next month to the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority. The brewery went to court two years ago to prevent the agency from shutting off service.

The brewery is on track to meet its water and sewer obligations, Piccirilli said. If it wasn't, the company would not have invested in the bottling line, he added.

A spokesman for Smith Brothers Advertising, the Strip District firm engineering the Save Our City campaign, said 50 billboards were spreading the word around the region. Plans for information at beer retailers, Piccirilli's tour of outlets and a Web site are still being formulated, Lindsey Smith said.

Pittsburgh Brewing is the sole financial backer of the campaign and has committed to a six-figure budget, Smith said.

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