Ever wonder why your beer only comes in brown or green bottles?
If you’ve ever stepped into a pub, club, or a gathering with friends, you’ll know clear bottles are a rarity – and there’s a reason for that.
When bottled beer first became a thing in the 19th century, it was kept in clear glass, but when the sun shone on it it began to smell bad – an obvious problem.
This was because the glass enabled UV rays to penetrate the bottle and then the beer, affecting the hops and changing the flavour, according to Business Insider.
The solution? Turning the bottles a darker colour to block out the rays.
After WWII, when there was a shortage of brown glass, green bottles became increasingly popular too.
Now, more than 70 years later, we’re still using brown and green bottles, but manufacturers can now apply a coat to protect the beer from UV rays and preserve the taste.
So is that why clear bottle brands like Corona and Desperados use limes in their drinks? Some people think so, but the citrus fruit also happens to be standard equipment in Mexican beer sold in America and the UK.
There are plenty of theories about why it was put there in the first place: It kills germs, it cleans the tip of the bottle, or it masks the taste of skunky beer.
Whatever the reason, the wedge of lime is here to stay – whether or not it has anything to do with the colour of the bottle. After all, a Corona without a lime isn’t a true Corona.
