How often do you buy beer? A few times a week? Once a week? Every other week? When you do, do you buy beer in cans or bottles? Have you ever thought about the packaging your beer comes in? Cans have become a very popular way to distribute beer since their introduction in the nineteen thirties. Originally, they were cone-shaped with caps similar to glass bottles. They might be made from tin or steel; eventually they would be made from lightweight aluminum.

Aluminum cans have advantages over glass, especially for the brewers. They don't break as easily, and they're much lighter, and therefore cheaper to ship. To the beer drinker however, beer in cans has been known to have a tinny note. This is the reason you don't see many craft brews packaged in them.

What about bottles? The best glass to bottle in is brown glass. There are other colors that will protect beer better, but they are prohibitively expensive to produce. Green glass is not a good choice for beer to be bottled in, nor is clear glass. Why? Light is the enemy of beer. Certain wavelengths of light interact with chemicals present in hops to produce the same chemical skunks give off (hence the term "skunked" beer).

Warsteiner Premium Verum (true reward) pours to a light golden color with a fine head of foam and a crisp malty nose. The palate is light and biscuity, crisp and refreshing with an aggressive and grassy German hop finish. Warsteiner is available in brown glass bottles, four packs of 16 ounce aluminum cans (what I'm drinking from tonight), and 5-gallon steel mini-kegs. Is it my prejudice that I pick up a metallic tinny flavor to this beer in cans? Perhaps. But I do.

Try this beer with just about any cuisine. It's crisp refreshing character and hop bite make it compatible with many dishes. I enjoyed it tonight with pork kabobs, rice pilaf, and lemon butter broccoli.
 

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft



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