Beer Bottles, Old and New

Somewhere in time, 2,000 or perhaps more years ago, beer made its way into bottles to permit this beverage to be consumed away from its brewery. Back then, the brewmasters must have used ceramic, but shortly thereafter, glass bottles, which have existed for about 5,000 years, became the structure of choice.

Certainly, the original Budweiser, Lowenbrau, and Heineken have been packaged in glass bottles with ceramic closures since at least the 19th century. Long enough, declare the purveyors of plas…