Japan, Tokyo: Asahi Breweries Ltd. said on July 8, 2004 it will sell beer in newly developed plastic bottles later this year.
Asahi is the first major Japanese brewer to use polyethylene terephthalate or PET bottles as beer container, according to Kyodo News. Plastic bottles have not been used for beer because they allow enough permeation of air and light, which would deteriorate its quality.

To overcome the problem, Asahi developed a PET bottle whose inner surface is covered with a silicon oxide. The outside surface is also protected by a light-shielding label and the bottom has a lightproof pad. The Asahi-devised bottle can prevent the leakage of carbon dioxide four times more than plastic bottles for soft drinks and is 20 times more effective in preventing the permeation of oxygen, the company said.

Asahi will build production facilities for the new bottles at its plant in Motomiya, Fukushima Prefecture, at a cost of 800 million yen.

Kirin Brewery Co., another major Japanese brewer, has also developed a similar bottle and is analyzing consumer demand for beer in plastic bottles.

Plastic bottles are already used for beer in some overseas markets including South Korea.