Beer In A Box?

Everyone's heard of wine in a box, but beer? After spending a couple years here quoting people outrageous sums to ship heavy (yet fragile) glass bottles around the country, I began thinking about alternate approaches to packaging for beer. The thought of plastic bottles crossed my mind, but it's been done and no one seems to like it except for maybe the recycling guys at sporting events. The thought of beer in a box crossed my mind several times, but the issue of carbonation and potentially explosive bags of beer always stumped me.

Today I fire up my machine and begin scanning various news outlets and beer geek sites to get a read on what's happening in the world and I come across this: Beer In A Box.

They've solved the carbonation issue in a method so simple (high tech, but simple) I probably never would have thought of it; package the beer flat and recarbonate at the point of dispense. Brilliant. Think of the cost savings, especially on beers that have to be shipped from over-seas.

I'm sure the technology required to package the beer in a bag is quite expensive and would put the process out of reach for smaller breweries, but I think if this technique were widely adopted it would definitely help curb the rising costs of transporting kegs which often cost more to ship than they do to produce.



Part of me is bummed that they beat me to it, but I'm glad to see someone thinking outside the box (sorry, I couldn't resist) in regards to packaging and ways of reducing costs that don't involve skimping on the ingredients. Of course, the true test of this system is how the beer tastes and feels. If the "recarbonation process" leads to a harsh, prickly mouthfeel similar to the feel of a fountain drink then I think I'd pass, but if they can reintegrate the CO2 in a way that "feels" natural I'd be all over it.

At this point it appears as though only one brewery is using the technology, but I'm curious to see if this process takes off.

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