Bring Your Own Bottle: Refill Stations for Spirits, Wine, Beer Becoming More Common in Stores

Stores are adding refill stations for beer, wine and spirits, which allow consumers to enhance their purchasing choices while being environmentally friendly. (Photo: Adnams)

The implementation of alcohol fill stations in stores is a brilliant idea, and fortunately, these stations are becoming more common. UK Brewer, distiller, and wine merchant Adnams is putting refill stations for beer, wine and gin in four of its locations (Southwold, Norwich (Unthank Road), Bury St Edmunds and Woodbridge). Customers can purchase Adnams-branded refill bottles or beer growlers and replenish them across those four stores.

The beers available will be Adnams Ghost Ship and its Kobold lager. Two new wines — and Argentinian Malbec and a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc — also will be available in 500-milliliter and one-liter bottles. The Copper House Gin will be available in a 700-milliliter bottle, as well.

“Launching a refill option in our stores has been so exciting for us,” said Alex Hemen, head of retail at Adnams, per the Lowestoft Journal. “It will enable our customers to enjoy our award-winning beers, wines, and spirits in a new, sustainable format, and enhances their purchasing choices.”

Sustainability is a major perk of refill stations; every time a customer reuses a bottle, that’s one less extra bottle they’d be buying as they threw away (or hopefully recycled) the previous one.

“We are absolutely loving being part of the refill movement and it’s great to see so many of our customers getting on board,” said Angharad Elliman, sales activity manager at Adnams, according to the Lowestoft Journal.

Meanwhile, British grocery chain Asda recently became the first UK supermarket to launch a draught beer system that allows customers to fill one- or two-liter glass containers with beer from a tap. The containers can either be kept and used, brought back to the store to refill or returned, according to a news release. If a customer chooses to return the container, they will have a deposit refunded.

The beers currently offered at Asda stores include Pornstar Martini IPA from Redchurch Brewery and Chew Chew Salted Caramel Milkstout from Fallen Brewing. Low-and-no-alcohol beers, such as Paradiso Citra IPA, a 0.5% beer from the team at Big Drop Brewing, also are available.

Asda has partnered with specialist retailer Craft on Draft to implement the draught system.

Here at Whiskey Raiders, we do more than write about current events in whiskey. We are the only media property reviewing whiskeys and aggregating the scores and reviews of other significant voices in the whiskey world in one place. If you’re interested in getting a shot of whiskey in your morning email, sign up for our Daily Dram Gram!