# Buying Beer Bottles In Bulk



## bootsdog (2/5/08)

hi

i was wondering if anyone knew of any places in vic that sell beer bottles (330ml) in bulk say 500-1000 numbers, i am looking at expanding my operation 

cheers


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## maltedhopalong (2/5/08)

Can't help you, but I once had a dream where I was a bad boy, went to hell and was forced to wash, sanitise, fill, prime and cap 330mL bottles. I was doing it for eternity and only got to 473.


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## horner34 (2/5/08)

you should ask 3 Ravens, Holgate, Grand Ridge, Mountain goat or Jamieson because they all have same bottle, so there must be a place in vic.


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## 3GumsBrewing (2/5/08)

maltedhopalong said:


> Can't help you, but I once had a dream....



Thats not a dream, thats a nightmare!! aaaaaggggghhhhhhhhhh

Otherwise can't help, I only just got rid of all my bottles, kegging is what all the cool kids are doing now days. :lol:


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## beerguide (2/5/08)

Have you tried a Brew on premises place? I know our nearest one bottles in either brown or green 330ml bottles (you are given the choice of colour). They must be buying them somewhere, and will probably let you buy them from them anyway.


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## pint of lager (2/5/08)

Grab the yellow pages and look for something like glass containers. ACI must sell them by the pallet. 

Really if you are upscaling, you want to go kegging.


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## Gulf Brewery (2/5/08)

pint of lager said:


> Grab the yellow pages and look for something like glass containers. ACI must sell them by the pallet.
> 
> Really if you are upscaling, you want to go kegging.



Cospak and Silverlock are national suppliers - check the ACI site for others. There are 2250 on a pallet. 

Cheers
Pedro


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## glenos (2/5/08)

plasdene is another option for you


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## bootsdog (6/5/08)

thanks for all that i will check out some of those leads... as for those with the cleaning bottle worries, you need not i plan on selling these beers.... therefore they wont be coming back


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## itguy1953 (6/5/08)

I have bought second hand bottles from Phil (calls himself the bottle bloke on ebay) in Cranbourne. He sources heaps of bottles, then sorts, de-labels, washes the bottles and then packs them in boxes ready for you to pick up. Does a fantastic job. He is a home brewer himself.

I have found his bottles to be very clean, and all that you need to do is sanitise them before bottling.

His phone number is 59964437. 

He sells stubbies on ebay for 25 cents each in lots of 200, and tallies at 50 cents each in lots of 100. 

He can source all sorts of bottles, both screw cap, and crown seal. Give him a sample of the bottles you want, and he can start collecting them. It does not take him long to collect several hundred (he has a great source for them). I just bought 200 Corona Extra stubbies off him, as well as 300 Carlton Colds.

Tell him that Nut Loaf Barry told you to call and he will look after you on price.

Barry


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## Sammus (6/5/08)

glenos said:


> plasdene is another option for you



I think cospak owns plasdene, either that or the other way round.

My bad, I forget where I heard that but I can't seem to make google link them in any way, so I just unconvinced myself


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## maltedhopalong (6/5/08)

"as for those with the cleaning bottle worries, you need not i plan on selling these beers.... therefore they wont be coming back "

Kevie Rudd will be stoked... what with all the excise tax you'll be paying! Or are they non-alcoholic? (Forewarned is forearmed, thats all)


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## bootsdog (6/5/08)

maltedhopalong said:


> "as for those with the cleaning bottle worries, you need not i plan on selling these beers.... therefore they wont be coming back "
> 
> Kevie Rudd will be stoked... what with all the excise tax you'll be paying! Or are they non-alcoholic? (Forewarned is forearmed, thats all)





the way i see it is that its better to try doing something you love and not make much money then doing something that pays well but does not inspire you... live life for all its worth.. stuff the worries.. and who knows mister rudd might remove that tax and when he does you will need to be ready to move very quickly....


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## brettprevans (6/5/08)

for 500-1000 bottles you'd be better off buying kegs. seriously i recon it would end up cheaper to buy kegs and it would take a hell of a lot less time and effort to use, less storage space etc etc etc. sorry to point out the obvious.

if your dead set keen on that many bottles, talk with Kospak. I'll be getting rid of my bottles once my kegs are set up, but its only ~200 bottles.


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## bootsdog (6/5/08)

i agree with kegs been easier totally 100%...

the things is i want to get these out to mates and mates of mates to taste and talk about and to start some ground swell on them, i have t-shirts with the logo designed, hats and what not, the bottle are so that i can take a six pack to bottle shops and say, what do you think.. i guess i just think they are easier to move around

on that i have received a quote from one of the places mentioned here and for 2250 bottles (330ml) the are asking $752 around 33cents a bottle which i think is a good start..

again thanks for all you help

cheers


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## brettprevans (6/5/08)

ummmm sorry if im the wrong track though, but are you planning on selling the beer? if so thats a can of worms. there's a myriad of issues with that.

besides if your a business, supplers would normally give you a small discount if your going to be a regular customer. you may also find that 375ml bottles are cheaper than 330ml.


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## beersom (6/5/08)

citymorgue2 said:


> nah... 375ml are pretty much impossible to get unless you want to get your own moldings made. Getting your own mold runs any where from $20000 -$80000. Hence why small breweries tend to stick to 330ml.


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## maltedhopalong (6/5/08)

All the best bootsdog. It sounds like you're actually intending on doing this legitimately so I wish you good luck.

Just remember you better get your alc/percentage spot on or you could end up in hot water. If you do go to the trouble of getting your license etc etc. make sure you tell us which bottle shops we can buy it at.


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## bootsdog (7/5/08)

sheers maltedhopalong and all others

again thanks for the advise.. will keep you informed 

wish me luck


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## kevnlis (7/5/08)

I wonder if you have done the maths? I see no way you are going to make any sort of money making this worth the risk.

Lets say a 23L batch of beer costs $30 (pretty reasonable for a decent brew, unless you plan on feeding them K&K brews).

A 23L batch, which you will get about 22L into bottles. Thats about 65 stubbies and about $0.45 worth of beer in each, not bad, but then you add the $0.35 per bottle and you are at $0.80. Lets say you somehow manage to con your mates into paying $1 per bottle for your beer (you can get German imports for $1.25). You profit $13 for all that work... not to mention putting yourself at risk.


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## Julez (7/5/08)

kevnlis said:


> I wonder if you have done the maths? I see no way you are going to make any sort of money making this worth the risk.
> 
> Lets say a 23L batch of beer costs $30 (pretty reasonable for a decent brew, unless you plan on feeding them K&K brews).
> 
> A 23L batch, which you will get about 22L into bottles. Thats about 65 stubbies and about $0.45 worth of beer in each, not bad, but then you add the $0.35 per bottle and you are at $0.80. Lets say you somehow manage to con your mates into paying $1 per bottle for your beer (you can get German imports for $1.25). You profit $13 for all that work... not to mention putting yourself at risk.



Assume a normal alc. vol of about 4.8% or so, the excise alone is about 60 cents per stubbie too. It's not economically viable to produce to a small scale unless you are very smart about it. By the time you factor everything in, distribution costs, storage facilities, refridgeration, security, equipment, licensing, calibration of equipment, bottles, labels, labour, energy costs, ingredients, capital equipment costs, etc., etc., etc. ~ it's just too hard to be profitable. Even if you get the full $10K excise rebate for producing under 30,000L/year, you'd be hard-pressed to make more than a low income earner's wage. ESPECIALLY if you are putting your finished product in bottles, due to the higher excise (excise rate is less for kegs) and packaging costs. And if you are thinking of boot-legging, the cost could be even more....


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## horner34 (7/5/08)

There is always one grumpy bastard that wants to bring everyone down.

Have a crack bootsdog and all the best pal.


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## staggalee (8/5/08)

Better still, what beer will be going into the said bottles?
Can you give us an example of a recipe for this venture of yours, Bootsdog?
I`m really curious to know. :unsure: 

stagga.


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## Julez (8/5/08)

horner34 said:


> There is always one grumpy bastard that wants to bring everyone down.
> 
> Have a crack bootsdog and all the best pal.



I am a grumpy bastard as it happens, but better to be aware of the realities than get a rude shock once the tax man and liquor licencing stooges are hot on your heels, methinks. 

I'm all for people having a crack, but it helps if they are also conscious of what they are up against. Definitely better to read a disheartening post from a grumpy bastard then spend a wad of dough and end up in the poo. That's _constructive_ criticism.


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