The History of Seltzer Bottles (2024)

FAQs

What were old seltzer bottles used for? ›

Soda companies like Coca-Cola produced flavored syrups, which they would sell to soda fountains. At the soda fountain shop, the server would use a seltzer bottle to add carbonated water to the syrup for a fresh, fizzy concoction.

Who Invented the Glass Seltzer Bottle? Although the invention of seltzer water is in the late 1700s, it's not until 1829 when two Parisian jewelers, Deleuze and Dutillet, invent the Siphon Seltzer Bottle.

Carbonated water was invented by Joseph Priestly in 1767. He discovered a way to infuse water with carbon dioxide by suspending a bowl or water above a beer vat at a brewery in Leeds, England. The initial idea for carbonated water actually dates back to 1740 when William Brownrigg first conceived the idea.

The antique seltzer bottles are beautiful, but they aren't exactly useable at home. First of all, most of them require filling at a special facility. The fittings allow for commercial companies to charge the bottles, but don't fit the carbon dioxide capsules.

Seltzer bottles were created in circa 1790 and were mass produced in varying shapes, sizes and colors in Central Europe during the early 19th century. The bottles boomed and were delivered to homes, hotels, and bars in crates throughout Europe similar to the iconic milkman in America.

Nick Shields developed the beverage branding and style with Spiked Seltzer, in Westport, Connecticut, brewing the first commercial batches in November 2013. The category saw a spike in popularity around 2018–2019 in the U.S. As of 2019, in the U.S. the most popular brand was White Claw.

The name seltzer comes from the German town of Selters which was famous for its naturally effervescent mineral springs.

Hard seltzers have been around for years — Bon & Viv launched in 2013 and even White Claw and Truly have been on the market since 2016.

The first real hard seltzer brand was made in 1993 by Coors when they introduced Zima, which is no longer in production today. R.I.P Zima; we barely knew you.

PERCEIVED AS HEALTHIER

Hard seltzer typically contains around 5% alcohol content by volume and is lower in calories than most comparable alcoholic drinks. It's also gluten free and low in sugar, giving off a healthier impression to consumers.

How did seltzer get so popular? ›

Other reasons for hard seltzer's popularity include millennial consumers who grew up drinking carbonated water, so they're used to the fizz of seltzers, and that hard seltzer is “gender neutral,” unlike beer, which is somewhat considered a “man's drink,” Miller notes.

Hard seltzers are gaining popularity due to the rising preference for low-calorie and low-sugar alternative alcoholic drinks over traditional alcoholic beverages among the health-conscious demographics across the world.

Typical embossed marks include a maker's mark or letters on the bottle's side or base. You may also see mold lines or machine marks. Missing letters, uneven spacing, or other embossing errors provide clues to a bottle's age.

Look for these old bottles with the characteristic crown top. The embossed maker's mark or letters on the side of a bottle or on the base of a bottle will help to reveal a bottle's age. Marks or letters on collectible milk bottles and Coca Cola bottles are commonly indicators of age and origin.

While not all old bottles are valuable, an older bottle is more likely to be worth more than a newer one. Seams and pontil marks are two of the ways you can determine a bottle's age. The pontil mark is the mark at the bottom of the bottle where it was attached to the glass blower's pontil rod.

“[W]e're seeing a volume shift from hard seltzers back to premium light beers with their lower pricing, particularly among 35- to 44-year-olds,” said Burwick. Despite a year-over-year decline in sales, hard seltzer still makes up the majority of the ready-to-drink alcohol market, according to NielsenIQ.

Olympic Eagle's portfolio of hard seltzer—which includes Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI)-owned seltzers such as Bud Light Seltzer, Michelob Ultra Organic Seltzer, and Corona Seltzer—is down -35% by volume in 2022.

Carbonated water has become part of German tradition and, as many of us when it comes to tiny details of our own culture, most Germans don´t have any idea where it comes from. Some Germans say it's because of the amount of minerals you get when you buy bottled water, others say that it simply tastes better.

Joseph Priestley invented carbonated water, independently and by accident, in 1767 when he discovered a method of infusing water with carbon dioxide after having suspended a bowl of water above a beer vat at a brewery in Leeds, England.

Why is seltzer water so addicting? ›

So when you drink something similar that your brain thinks is bad for you, you get the same dopamine rush—even if it's just carbonated water. “It creates a reward loop,” Seltzer says. "And the bubbles feel good going down."

All About the Base - What Kind of Alcohol Is In Hard Seltzer

Many hard seltzers have a base of fermented cane sugar with added flavors, but seltzers can also be made with malted barley, grain neutral spirits, or wine.

Neither White Claw nor Truly was the first hard seltzer to hit the market. That distinction belongs to SpikedSeltzer, which launched in 2013 and later rebranded as Bon V! V.

What has made White Claw so successful in all of its marketing campaigns is that they do not make assumptions about what their customers are looking for based on their gender, but take a gender-neutral approach. Their product is aimed at everyone, male and female consumers.

Boston Beer Company's misleading advertising helped it sell Truly Hard Seltzer flavors to hundreds of thousands of “unsuspecting consumers,” throughout California, New York, and the US, the class action lawsuit alleges.

Ohio loves White Claw more than any US state | wkyc.com.

In 1994, Coors introduced Zima, a low-ABV beverage alternative to wine coolers. Ultimately, the product flopped. Yet, today there are more than 65 hard seltzers.

But can sparkling water actually replace regular water? Nathalie Sessions, wellness dietitian at Houston Methodist Wellness Services says, “Yes, sparkling water is just as healthy as regular water — most of the time.”

“You can call it sparkling water, club soda, seltzer, Perrier, soda water, or fizzy water, and someone will suggest an alternative,” says a colleague who frequently orders unflavored carbonated beverages.

Benefits of Choosing Hard Seltzer

It tends to have fewer calories and less sugar than mixed drinks, beer, or hard cider. Most hard seltzers have about 100 calories and 2 grams of carbohydrates in a 12-ounce can. In contrast, a beer of about the same size has about 150 calories and 15 to 30 grams of carbohydrates.

What is the most popular flavor of seltzer? ›

If there's a definitional flavor of hard seltzer, it has to be black cherry—it is, after all, the most popular flavor offered by the most popular brand.

1 in 5 alcohol drinkers (21+) say they drink hard seltzer – and among younger adults, the fizzy drinks are especially popular. In fact, younger consumers are more than twice as likely as consumers over the age of 44 to say bottoms up to spiked seltzer.

Bromo-Seltzer bottles were made by hand from 1907 to the 1910-1911 period. By 1911, production was switched over to machine, and in about 1914 Owens automatic bottle-making machines was put into use at the plant. Most, if not all, of the CORK-top Bromo-Seltzer bottles made by Maryland date between 1907 and circa 1921.

The number (within a triangle with rounded corners) found on the bottom of plastic bottles is a code indicating the type of plastic the bottle is made from, and pertains to the subject of recycling) .

Solarization of Glass

It is a photochemical phenomenon that is not yet perfectly understood. It is generally accepted that the ultra-violet light initiates an electron exchange between the manganese and iron ions. This changes the manganese compound into a form that causes the glass to turn purple.

Vintage simply means old.

The meaning of the word “vintage” is simply “of age,” making it more difficult to set a specific age requirement. However, many say vintage items are at least 20 years old. So, generally speaking, something can be considered vintage if it is between 20 and 99 years old.

Generally speaking if the item is no older than an antique but not less than 20 years, it falls under the term vintage.

Most bottles are found in places that are associated with finding old glass. This includes former trash dumps, old privies (or outhouses), construction sites, and waterfront areas. Any area that served as a dump site for a long period of time is a bottle digger's paradise.

Plastic water bottles take anywhere from 400 to 1000 years to break down and are the ten most common rubbish items picked up on Clean up Australia Day.

by Walt Rigling

Small hand blown glass medicinal bottles have been in use for nearly 2,000 years. The earliest ones were the Roman "unguentaria", sometimes called "teardrop bottles", seen on the right. These were used by the Romans for fragrant oils used in medicines, perfumes, and cooking.

What happened to the original spiked Seltzer? ›

Bon & Viv touts that it was the first hard seltzer, launched as SpikedSeltzer in 2013. It was bought by Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2016, which rebranded the product.

The plastic bottles were preferable because they were cheaper and easier to manufacture and transport, and they quickly replaced glass as the material of choice in soda bottling.

If the bottle seam goes to the lip's top, the bottle is likely a machine-produced bottle from 1910 to the modern era. If the seam goes to the neck's top but stops before the lip, the bottle was likely produced from 1880 to 1910. However, entire bottle classes stand as exceptions to this rule.

The embossed maker's mark or letters on the side of a bottle or on the base of a bottle will help to reveal a bottle's age. Marks or letters on collectible milk bottles and Coca Cola bottles are commonly indicators of age and origin.

A: Half–size and smaller refillable syphons were made until the mid part of the 20th Century. Unfortunately, the carbon dioxide capsules these require are not made anymore so, although they are probably repairable, you cannot get the consumable CO2 capsules to use with them.

Filling your Soda Syphon

Unscrew head and remove syphon tube, making sure the plastic sleeve stays inside. Fill the syphon body to the top with cold water, (A). If the level falls after filling DO NOT top up again as this will overfill the syphon.

Cold water

Cold filled water and cool storage produce particularly sparkling soda water. Therefore, store the filled iSi Soda Siphon in the refrigerator.

The first real hard seltzer brand was made in 1993 by Coors when they introduced Zima, which is no longer in production today. R.I.P Zima; we barely knew you.

Arguably the first hard seltzer was Zima. This clear, lightly carbonated and lemon-lime flavored malt beverage was introduced in 1993. It became very successful with young women in particular, and throughout its 15-year lifespan, additional citrus and fruit flavors were added.

The hard seltzer story began in 1993. That year, Coors Brewing Company launched Zima Clearmalt, a clear and lightly carbonated malt-based beverage that was marketed as an alternative to beer, primarily targeting women.

When did soda bottles switch from glass to plastic? ›

1978: Coca-Cola and Pepsi, introduced the first 2l PET plastic bottles to the World. We all thought back then that was fantastic, and the greatest invention. You could drop the bottles, re-open them many times, perfect for pick-nick box, etc.

Plastic is much more CO2-permeable than glass and aluminum, meaning that the carbon dioxide, or fizz, will leak out of a plastic bottle much faster than a glass bottle or can.

Encore: Sprite ditches its iconic green bottle, but critics say it's not enough For decades, Sprite has come in green bottles, but the company says clear plastic is more easily recycled. Environmentalists say the issue is not the color but the single-use plastic.