Updated date:

Feb 26, 2021

Beverages That Use Flip-Top Bottles for Brewing Beer and Kombucha

Author:: Devin Gustus

My father and I enjoy brewing beer. I write about brewing beer from time to time. I also grow hops in my backyard to support this hobby.

beverages-that-use-flip-top-bottles-for-brewing-beer-and-kombucha

New Flip-top bottles Are expensive!

My father and I enjoy brewing homemade beer. We like having an impact in as much of the process of brewing as possible. I also grow hops in my backyard to support this hobby. Previously, we have utilized caps and a hand bottle-capper to finish things off. I thought a nice gift would be a large number of flip-top beer bottles to make things simpler and easier. We compared the time and energy to cap a beer bottle to using a swing-top. The swing-top is much easier and quicker, and requires fewer tools. However, I found that new swing-tops are about as expensive per bottle as a 4-pack of Grolsch, which clearly has the added benefit of containing beer when purchased. But I enjoy a wide variety of beer, and I wanted to branch out to other styles. This is a list of beers (and other beverages) that come in flip-top bottles. I have provided links to the specific breweries, if found.

Altenmunster

Style:

Urig Wurzig: Spicy, sounds like a kellerbier EBC Bitterness: 20, EBC is roughly equivalent to IBU, see notes.
Hopfig Herb: Fresh and Floral hop notes, 30 EBC
Maibock Hell: should be an easy to drink beer, 25 EBC
Winterbier Dunkel: Caramel, berry, sweetness, 25 EBC

Pros:

Brown Bottle
16 oz size / 500 ml

Cons:

Have not found Altenmunster in my area

Notes:

EBC Scale of bitterness. EBC Color is a more common scale than EBC bitterness. Assume EBC used for color unless otherwise noted.
From Germany

Brasserie BFM

Styles:

La Cuivree (Copper): Amber Ale
La Brouette (The Wheel Barrow): Unfiltered ale with green tea
La Salamandre (The Salamander): Wheat?
La Torpille (Torpedo): Brown Ale
La Meule (The Wheel): Light Bitter with ginger and sage
Highway to Helles IPA: 60 IBU
L'Alex le Rouge (Alex the Red): Imperial Stout
La Mandragore (The Mandrake): Winter Stout
La Blonde des Franches: New, unknown

Pros:

Brown Bottles
12.5 oz size

Cons:

Have not found BFM in my area

Notes:

Website: Brasserie BFM.
From Switzerland.

Brasserie Lefebvre

Style:

Hopus Primeur: In the style of Hopus, but dry hopped for increased hop flavor and aroma. Probably use Cascade or Sorachi Ace based on the description on the website (grapefruit, pineapple).

Pros:

Brown Bottle

Cons:

11.2 oz size
Not widely available (see notes)

Notes:

From Belgium, established in 1876.
Other styles available, but only Hopus Primeur is flip-top.
Only 1 listed distributor in the United States, in South Carolina, website: Total Beverage Solution
Brewery Website: Brasserie Lefebvre

Brasserie Des Légendes (Former Ellezelloise)

Style:

Amber
Blond
Bio-Organic (not sure of style)
Stout "Hercule"

Pros:

Brown Bottle

Cons:

small bottles, 11.2 oz
Have not found Brasserie Des Légendes yet in my area.

Notes:

From Belgium, 2 locations Ellezelloise and Irchonwelz.
Not much information online.
Some bottles appear to be crown caps (Goliath, Saison), not flip-tops.

Fischer (Owned by Heineken)

Style:

Pale Lager "Tradition"
Amber

Pros:

22 oz size
Brown Bottle

Cons:

Still searching for Fischer bottles in my area.

Notes:

From France.
Bought by Heineken in 1996 and moved to another facility in the same city, Schiltigheim, north of Strasbourg.
Possibly available at Whole Foods

Flensburger Brauerei

Style:

Pinsener 38 bitterness units
Edles Helles "Noble Bright" 18 bitterness units
Gold 18 Bitterness units
Dunkel 28 Bitterness Units
Radler "cyclist" Pilsener/Lemonade 19 Bitterness units—blue bottle
Kellerbier Cellar Beer 19 Bitterness Units. Unfiltered.
Weizen "Wheat" 12 Bitterness Units
Fruhlingsbock Spring Bock 24 bitterness units.
Winter Bock 20 bitterness units
BrauArt Blonde Belgian Style Helles
BrauArt Dunkles Dark Amber
Frei "Free" 38 Bitterness units
Wasser "water" Glacier Water
Radler NA "Cyclist" Pilsener/Lemonade, but alcohol-free 17 Bitterness Units
Malz Malt Alcohol free, 5 bitterness units
Fassbrause Citrone "Lemon" Alcohol-free, 15 bitterness units, clear bottle
Fassbrause Rhubarb Strawberry Alcohol-free, 12 bitterness units, clear bottle
Bolkstoff Not much useful info on this one.

Pros:

Mostly Brown Bottles, some blue, some clear
Many styles of beer
Pilsener has 16 oz size (500 ml)

Cons:

Singles are expensive ($4) for size
Mostly 11 oz sizes (330 ml)
Plastic caps, not ceramic

Notes:

Website: Flensburger Brauerie.
Singles found at my local Total Wine and More, 4 pack at Leuken's.

Grolsch Premium Pilsner

Style:

Pilsner, 30 IBU
Other styles are uncommon, and do not come with flip-tops

Pros:

Inexpensive (theoretically you could buy grolsch, drink the beer, sell empty bottles on eBay, drink for next to nothing)
Easy to Find: My Target had it, though less expensive at local liquor store.
16 oz, 450 ml size

Cons:

Green Bottles
Pretty basic beer

Notes:

Website: Grolsch.
Originally from the Netherlands, now owned by AB Inbev, a Japanese company.
Four varieties available. "Premium Pilsner" is the only one with swing-top bottles.

Hacker-Pschorr

Styles:

Munchner Gold
Weissbier "Wheat Beer"
Kellerbier "Cellar Beer"

Pros:

Appears to be 12 oz bottle
Brown Bottle

Cons:

Not widely distributed/Not found in my area yet

Notes:

Website: Hacker-Pschorr.
From Bavaria (German)

Hirschbrau

Styles

Holzar: Dark, 21 BU
Huttenbier: Cottage Beer, bright export, 21 BU
Doppelbock: Double Bock 19 BU
Doppel-hirsch: Doppelbock dark 22 BU
Helles Export: 21 BU
Marzen: 20 BU
Radler: "cyclist" Probably beer/lemonade, similar to lemon shandy with low ABV

Pros:

Brown Bottle
16 oz/500 ml size

Cons:

Difficult to find, have not found in my area.

Notes:

Website: Hirschbrau.
From Sonthofen, Germany.
Only flip-top varieties listed. Crown caps of other varieties also available.

Kapuziner

Style:

Hefe-Weiss
Hefe-Dunkel
Winter Weiss
Kristal Klar "Crystal Clear"
Alkoholfrei
Kellerweizen
Hefe-Leicht
Hefe-Radler
Hefe-Bock

Pros:

16.9 oz size
Brown Bottle

Cons:

Difficult to locate, have not found in my area.

Notes:

Website: Kapuziner.
German Beer. Part of Kulmbacher brewery.
Appears to specialize in wheat beers.

Monchshof

Style:

Original: Light and delicate
Radler: Naturally cloudy, another lemonade/beer mix
Bayerisch Hell: balanced and mild with malt
Lager: "slim," finely aromatic with delicate hops notes
Bock: strong, complex roast malt aroma
Maibock: aromatic, elegant malt flavor, copper-colored
Kellerbier: Mild, cloudy, amber
Naturtrub Alkoholfrei: less than 0.5% ABV, unfiltered
Landbier: mild, full-flavored (??) export beer
Schwarzbier: mild(this was not mild, see notes) velvety roast malt, dark beer
Weihnachtsbier: fine wort aroma, understated hoppiness

Pros:

Brown Bottle
16 oz size

Cons:

Uncommon
Moderately expensive

Notes:

Website: Monschof.
Many of these beers have descriptions that start with "mild" on the website, perhaps a translation issue. I was able to find schwarzbier locally, and it was definitely NOT MILD in flavor. I ended up mixing schwarzbier 50/50 with blue moon and it was excellent, really bringing the flavor out. I would consider purchasing schwarzbier again with intent to mix with a wheat beer.

Moosbacher/Scheuerer brewery

Style:

Lager
Wheat
Pilsener
Leicht Weiss Light Wheat
Schwarzel Weiss Dark Wheat
Kellerbier
Zeigl Bavarian export beer

Pros:

Brown Bottle
Lager was good
16 oz size

Cons:

Moderately Expensive
Uncommon, I have only found lager beer

Notes:

Website: Moosbacher.
From Bavaria (Germany) near Czech border.
Lager was good and would drink again.

Nero's

Style:

Apecchio: American Amber/Red Ale IBU unknown

Pros:

Available at Trader Joe's
Brown Bottle
16 oz size

Cons:

Purported to be pretty bad. Very sweet with fruity notes.

Notes:

Brewed for TJ's by Steinhaus Brewing / JosephsBrau.
From: California, United States

Rogue XS series

Style:

Imperial Stout
Imperial Pale Ale
Old Crustacean Barleywine 105 IBU

Pros:

Interesting dark colored bottle
Large 25 oz/750 ml bottle

Cons:

Pricey!
Uncommon

Notes:

From United States.
Seems limited release XS series.

Schwaben Brau

Styles

Das Natürtrübe, unfiltered lager.
Original: southern German style 330 ml only
Das Echte Märzen.
Meister-Pils filtered lager
Das Schwarze, dunkel/dark beer
Das Helle Helles.
Das Weizen unfiltered wheat beer.
Das Urtyp Export export beer, usually light
Zwickl Cellar beer
Volksfestbier: Available around Thanksgiving
Weihnachtsbier: Christmas beer
Hellesbock: Brewed only in colder months
Das Landbier: Spicy beer 330 ml size only

Pros:

Mostly 16 oz/500 ml
Brown

Cons:

Not widely distributed in my area/Have not found in my area

Notes:

Website: Schwaben Brau.
From Stuttgart, Germany

Staropolskie

Styles:

Dworski
Chmielne
Kozlak
Miodne
Porter
Pzenne
Rezane
PRL Light
PRL Full
PRL Dark
Baltic Porter
Jasne
Pelne
Bawarski
Triple Honey
Chmielowe
Miodowe
Swiadomie Lekkie
Premium Lager

Pros:

Chmielne found at nearby Polish deli
Easy to drink

Cons:

No other varieties found

Notes:

About half the styles are swing top, half not. I am unfamiliar with these styles, so I do not have a lot of input as to which would be best for your taste.

Sterkens Brewery

Style:

Bokrijks: Belgian Blonde/Golden Ale
Hoogstraten Poorter "Dark and Strong"
St. Sebastian Dark: Dark Ale
St. Sebastrian Grand Cru

Pros:

Interesting ceramic bottle, with swing top
Large size, either 16 oz or 25 oz (hoogstraten poorter only)

Cons:

Not found in my area thus far

Notes:

Website: Brouerij Sterkens.
From Belgium.
Larger sizes of St. Sebastrian and Bokrijks are in 750 ml bottles with corks, not swing tops. Hoogstraten Poorter is only 750 ml swing-top bottle.

Tettnanger Kronenbrauerei

Styles

Keller-Pils
Hopfenkrone
Coronator Dunkel
Coronator Hell

Pros:

Brown bottles

Cons:

Not widely distributed/not found in my area
11.2 oz/330 ml size

Notes:

Website: Tettnanger Kronenbrauerei
From Germany
Uses only Tettnanger Hops, one of the noble hop varieties.
Other varieties available with crown caps.

Uerige

Styles

Old Alt "The bitterest beer in Germany"
Sticke
Doppelsticke
Wheat
Original Fassbrause Non-alcoholic

Pros:

Brown bottles
Uerige Old Alt available in 330 and 500 ml sizes (11.2 oz and 16 oz)

Cons:

Not widely distributed/not found in my area
Mostly 11.2 oz/330 ml size

Notes:

Website:
From Dusseldorf, Germany
Distinct long necked bottles

Veldensteiner

Styles

Landbier: Spicy with lots of extracts
Lager: Mild, dry, refreshing
Pils: Mild, fine hop bitterness
Zwick'l: Bottom fermented Kellerbier
Sapphire Bock: A dark doppelbock
Festbier: Described as strong, amber, a specialty for the cold season. Likely spicy.
Radler: A mix of lemonade and beer, lower alcohol content. I've noticed a number of European breweries make this, but have never encountered in the United States. The closest thing I have found here would be a shandy.
Special Edition Summerweiss: Summer wheat beer using difficult to acquire Mandarina Bavaria hops. Mandarina Bavaria is known for its orange flavor.