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

My father and I enjoy brewing beer. 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. However, I found that new flip-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.

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 Altemunster 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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Pros:

• Brown bottles
• Appear to be 16 oz/500 ml size

Cons:

• Not widely distributed/not found in my area

Notes:

• Website: Veldensteiner.
• From Germany

Styles

• Weiselburger Stammbrau: full-bodied, malty, spicy
• Weiselburger Schwarzbier: dark beer, roasted/malty

Pros:

• Brown bottles
• 16 oz/500 ml size

Cons:

• Not widely distributed/not found in my area

Notes:

• Website: Weiselburger
• From Austria

Pros:

• Alternative to beer

Cons:

• Clear Bottle, does not protect from sunlight.

Sizes:

750 ml, 1.75 ml

Notes:

• Included for the reader, I generally don't drink vodka.