Asahi Breweries To Use Lighter Weight Beer Bottle

Japan's Asahi Breweriues Ltd will reduce the weight of its large beer bottles by 25%, company officials said. The new bottle, weighing 455g is 20g lighter than a bottle used by Kirin Brewery Co., since 1999. The new bottle consists of a thinned glass surface treated with metal to maintain its strength. Lighter bottles enable vehicles to carry more. This should help reduce Asahi's vehicle fleet by about 10%, the officials said. Asahi introduced one million bottles in the Shikoku region on a trial basis from this spring. The company uses the same beer bottles as Sapporo Breweries Ltd, and Suntory Ltd. It plans to encourage the two companies to adopt the lighter bottle if the trials prove successful.