Sidel launches innovative PET bottle for beer

For many years there have been misperceptions around beer in PET, regarding, for instance, temperature and taste. Now international packaging producer Sidel wants to help change these misperceptions by creating a PET bottle that utilises a "champagne" base and also supports crown closures, which are both more traditionally found on glass beer bottles.

The new bottle weighs only 28 grams, which is up to 86 % less than an average equivalent glass bottle, according to Sidel data. It is available from 330 ml (with less than 1 ppm of oxygen ingress and less than 17% of carbon dioxide loss) to up to 600 ml.

The company can provide a 330 millilitre version (with less than 1 parts-per-million (ppm) of oxygen ingress and less than 17% of carbon dioxide loss) as well as versions up to 600 millilitres. Larger sizes are currently being developed.

Single layer material blends and Sidel’s proprietary Actis™ gas-barrier technology help prevent oxygen entering and carbon dioxide dioxide escaping the package. As a result, the beer bottle can protect beer qualities for up to a six-month shelf life.

The bottle can be used for flash or tunnel pasteurised beer, and also micro-filtrated beer. For tunnel-pasteurised beer a PET bottle usually requires a petaloid base, but Sidel’s new bottle has a unique base and other design technologies that mean it can resist the pressures produced by the prolonged high temperatures during this production process, while still retaining the appearance of a more traditional glass bottle. The bottle can withstand pressures of 20 pasteurisation units (PU) in the tunnel, which is standard for lagers, and retains a stable base after pasteurisation. Furthermore, the bottle design can be used on existing tunnel pasteurisers that currently serve glass bottles.

The new bottle has been tested using finite element analysis and feasibility testing to evaluate bottle stability, liquid quality protection and rigidity. Finally it ran full industrial production tests to prove the bottle’s performance, both during production and across simulated supply chains.

It can be produced using all suitable Sidel PET packaging solutions for beer, including its beer fillers and the new range of Sidel Matrix™ blowers and labellers.