So long-neck: Ale-8 announces discontinuation of iconic bottles

Published 3:30 pm Wednesday, October 11, 2023

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The end of a Clark County – and Kentucky icon – is nigh.

Ale-8-One announced on Tuesday that it is discontinuing its refillable longneck bottles.

“As with other milestones in life, there are moments when we must find a balance between tradition and transition. With full hearts and over a hundred years of memories, the time has come to retire our beloved Ale-8-One refillable longneck bottles,” Ale-8 said in a news release.

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The company said that the machinery it uses to wash and refill the bottles is beyond repair and no longer produced in the United States.

“With great care, effort, innovation, and resourcefulness, we have brought our longnecks into the modern era, extending their production for 30 or more years beyond what the rest of the industry offered. These bottles represent a sweet story from a bygone era,” the company said. “We must say goodbye.”

The bottles will stay in circulation while supplies last and the company is encouraging its customers to retain a few for a keepsake.

“We encourage everyone to preserve a bottle or two and show us how you have given our bottle a new life! We would love to share your little piece of history, repurposed,” the company said in the release.

The Ale-8 bottle return program will also end this year on Dec. 31.

The company also announced a partnership with Miguel’s Pizza in Powell County for a “Commonwealth Collective” recycling program to return bottles to glass supplier Owens-Illinois for recycling.

“This pilot mirrors the direct recycling program we’ve operated at the Ale-8-One facility in Winchester, KY since the beginning of 2023. We hope to rally our fans and extend this program with strategic partnerships to other locations throughout the state to create a closed loop for glass bottles in Kentucky,” the company said.