Beer · Explainer
Is beer from a can different from beer from a bottle?
Beer from a can and beer from a bottle is the same beer; the difference lies in the packaging. A can lets no light through, glass does, and light sets off, via riboflavin, the reaction that causes lightstruck flavour. Aluminium cans became about 45 percent lighter over the last fifteen years. A drinks can in the Netherlands carries a 15 cent deposit.
In brief
The key figures
| Difference in taste | The beer is the same; the packaging differs |
|---|---|
| Light | A can lets no light through, glass lets some or all through |
| Light-struck taste | Riboflavin acts as a light-sensitive substance and sets the reaction in motion |
| Weight of can | About 45 percent lighter than fifteen years ago |
| Deposit on drinks can | 15 cents |
| Deposit on small plastic bottle | 15 cents, large plastic bottle 25 cents |
| Reuse of glass returnable bottles | 20 to 30 times |
| Age | NIX18: geen alcohol onder de 18 jaar |
Why does beer from a can sometimes taste different from beer from a bottle?
Pouring makes more difference than the packaging: from a glass, aroma and foam are released, from a can or a bottle they hardly come loose.
Aroma is the largest part of what you taste, and aroma needs space. Beer that is poured forms foam, and that foam carries the volatile compounds to your nose. If you drink straight from the can or the bottle, you miss out on that.
Therefore always pour specialty beer into a glass, regardless of what it comes in.
Does a can protect beer from light better than glass?
A can lets no light through and thereby keeps beer entirely clear of light-struck flavour, while glass lets light through to a degree that depends on its colour.
Research into packaging and light damage identifies riboflavin as the substance that sets off the reaction: under the influence of light an aroma compound forms that drinkers describe as musty. Researchers drew up an index with which packaging can be compared for light protection.
A cardboard outer box around the bottles does the same job as tin in practice: keeping light out.
What does can mean for deposit and returning?
A drinks can in the Netherlands carries a 15 cent deposit, the same as a small plastic bottle; on a large plastic bottle it is 25 cent.
Glass beer bottles fall outside that scheme. For them there is the breweries’ own return system, with a deposit on bottle and crate. A glass returnable bottle lasts 20 to 30 times, and about 80 percent of the beer sold in the Netherlands goes into reusable glass, into kegs or into a hospitality tank.
Which beers do you come across more often in cans, and which in bottles?
Hop-driven beers are more often in cans, while refermented beers and beers for keeping stay in glass.
For an IPA freshness counts: hop aroma fades through light, oxygen and time, and a can shuts out light completely. For a tripel or a quadrupel the bottle counts, because the beer re-ferments in the bottle there and the sediment has to be able to settle.
A large part of specialty beer comes in 33 centilitres; on the shelf you will also come across the 44 centilitre size.
How do you best store beer, in a can or in glass?
Store beer cool, dark and upright; in those conditions it makes little difference whether it is in a can or in glass.
Light is the fastest enemy, heat the second. A can or a closed box removes the first. A cool cellar or a shelf out of the sun removes the second. Storing upright keeps the sediment at the bottom of re-fermented bottles.
NIX18: wij verkopen geen alcohol aan iemand onder de 18 jaar.
From the shop in Bathmen
Which beers are on the shelf in the 44-centilitre size?
The shop in Bathmen stocks 15 beers from 5 different brands in 4 countries. Prices range from € 2.99 to € 6.49. Alcohol strength ranges from 5% to 12%.
- Brasserie Jukebox Fly Away 6% · 44 cl · France
- Brasserie Jukebox Imagine 5.4% · 44 cl · France
- Brasserie Jukebox Make It 5.8% · 44 cl · France
- Brasserie Jukebox Work It 5.8% · 44 cl · France
- Brewery42 De Brom Baron Double IPA 9.2% · 44 cl · Netherlands
- Brewery42 De Kroeg Krijger Barleywine 11% · 44 cl · Netherlands
- Didko Brewing The King 10% · 44 cl · Netherlands
- Didko Brwe Bock is OK 44 cl · Netherlands
- Guinness Blond IPA 5% · 44 cl · Ireland
- Moersleutel Coffe Grinder 7.5% · 44 cl · Netherlands
Related questions
Can you age bottled beer?At what temperature should beer be served?Do you pour the yeast sediment from the bottle or not?
Short answer
Short answers to related questions
- Does beer in a can deteriorate faster than in a bottle?
- No. A can blocks out light completely; heat and time are the same problem for can and glass.
- Is there a deposit on a beer can?
- Yes, 15 cent per drinks can. Glass beer bottles fall under the breweries' own return system.
- Why is specialty beer increasingly found in cans?
- A can weighs less, lets no light through and is easy to recycle; metal is recycled for 93 percent in the Netherlands.
- Should you pour beer from a can into a glass?
- Yes, for the same reason as with a bottle: aroma and foam are only released in a glass.
- Is a can better for the environment than glass?
- That depends on the system. A returnable glass bottle lasts 20 to 30 uses; in the Netherlands more than 85 percent of cans are collected.
The reasoning
Sources
- Characterization of packaging ability to protect beer from light degradation and introduction of a new Packaging Riboflavin Index, Kvasny Prumysl (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Verpakkingen, Nederlandse Brouwers (accessed 7 September 2026)
- Veelgestelde vragen over statiegeld, Statiegeld Nederland (accessed 7 September 2026)
This page was written and checked by ’t Bockje Bathmen, wine & spirits shop at Brink 2 in Bathmen. Last updated on 6 October 2026.
Verkoop van alcohol onder de 18 jaar is verboden. NIX18.