A unique feature of our product portfolio is the presence of the two litre PET bottle. PET in the acronym for polyethylene terraphthallate, a plastic polymer.
PET bottles are manufactured by an injection blow moulding process. First, a "preform" is moulded from PET resin. This preform is tubular in shape, with the open end shaped with the flange and threads for capping. The preform is then heated, and stretched inside a bottle mould by high pressure compressed air into its final shape, resulting in a free standing bottle with a petaloid (five legged) base. They are then shipped to the brewery in "reshipper" cartons or on bilk pallets, similar to cans.
Advantages of the PET bottle include low cost, light weight and consumer preference for the package, as evidenced by its acceptance in the soft drink industry.
Major disadvantages stem from its light weight however, the PET bottle being prone to conveying and instability problems. Problems also arise due to the permeation of carbon dioxide gas through the bottle, and the PET bottle's low internal pressure containment, or bursting point, which means that the container cannot be pasteurised.
This last fact led to a solution made possible by the rising popularity of the so called "cold filtered" packaged draught. The aim of cold filtering, the faddishly used term for what is actually sterile filtration, is to achieve microbiological stability in a packaged product, without the use of heat pasteurisation.
While European brewers have been using sterile filtration for many years, it has only been recently that North American brewers have seen the value of the process. Conversely, many European brewers are now heat pasteurising the portion of their output designated as "export" beer.
Beer is pumped through a two part sterilising filtration system, which filters out small particles and organisms, and in placed in a sterile PET bottle. Thus, we have a biologically stable product which has a longer shelflife than regular kegged draught. Unlike the soft drink industry, we use no preservatives and an amber coloured PET bottle. This was jointly developed by our staff, and that of the bottle manufacturer to prevent access of UV (ultraviolet) light, which would otherwise spoil the product by making it "skunky".
NOTE: Due to new legislation, the PET line became uneconomical and was shut down in 2008
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