Three types of containers are used in beer packaging and distribution: kegs, aluminium cans and glass bottles. The most popular beer packaging includes returnable 0.5 l glass bottles, on average refilled several times. Non-returnable bottles include 0.33 l and 0.66 l containers. Aluminium 0.5 l cans ( and temporarily 5 l cans ) are increasingly gaining in popularity. The HoReCa business employs bottled and draught beer. The latter is packaged in kegs: stainless steel barrels of 30 l or 50 l. A keg is a returnable, long-life type of packaging.

In Poland the glass bottle is the most popular type of packaging, representing more than 50% of the market. However, every year sales of bottled beer in Poland slightly decline giving way to the increasingly more popular canned beer. It has already scooped up 40% of the Polish beer market, a unique phenomenon in Europe. Also non-returnable bottles are becoming more and more popular. Although Polish consumers tend to visit pubs more frequently than several years ago, it has not helped draught beer to regain its former market position. On the other hand, bottled beer is enjoying growing popularity in the on-premise channel. The consumers claim that bottled beer purchased in pubs, clubs or restaurants guarantee the beverage’s desired flavour and quality; it is also an opportunity to make a statement of what your favourite drink is. The bottle is convenient and practical (especially in a disco): you can sip the beer and maintain the temperature and gas saturation level.