"They have weapons & we have weapons, & ours might seem like slingshots & their's seem like giant missiles"
-Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head
The more market share that smaller breweries take away from mulitnational beer corporatianons the more those companies are doing to take back that market share.
"Fancy" bottles wheather out of nessity, tradition, marketing, or just plain brewers prefrence have in a way been a mark of better breweries for a good while now. Big companies have always understood their appeal, it's a big reason why Grolsch has never let go of the flippy top bottle, and it's the reason why each year (particularly around the holidays) the big guys put out special packaging. But it's not enough to throw a few cans of Bud in a tin anymore.
This year Des Moines is seeing all sorts of novelties aimed specifically at taking shelf space away from smaller breweries. Two are particularly nice looking and serve a niche of the market that's been pretty well owned by better breweries for some time now.
Stella 750ml
Blue Moon Grand Cru
So the moral is "don't buy these bottles" right? No, not at all. If you feel like a Stella buy a Stella & if curiosity gets the best of you buy Blue Moon Grand Cru (I know I might). I guess what I'm saying is be aware of what things like this are intended for, and be cautious when a pretty bottle shows up it could be there to elbow something you love right off the shelf.
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