Aluminum Bottle - Fact or Fiction

The Aluminum Bottle is now being used by several bottlers [most notably Anheuser-Busch] but is this really a innovative packaging solution or just a marketing campaign? Let's take a look:

Stay's cooler longer - The industry reports that beer will stay cooler longer in the aluminum bottle - up to 50 minutes - and that maybe true but who actually sips 1 once of beer every 4 plus minutes?

Unbreakable - Sure if you drop it off the table it will not shatter like a glass bottle could but these are not unbreakable just much less likely to rupture.

Cooler design - Definitely cooler looking than the traditional can of beer and much lighter than glass.

Tastes the same as glass - Seems like it tastes more like a can beer than a glass beer, for those who can tell the difference. Plus, draft beer is not typically served in a aluminum mug but rather it is poured into a pint glass.

Since the target market is the city club scene it would appear this is more a marketing more than a product quality one. On the plus side, I say kudos to the packaging folks for giving us something interesting to hold while dancing the night away.