For all those who have written with questions, I would like to say thank-you. The new semester has been sparse on the questions to say the least and would just like to encourage everyone to send an email if they have any beer related questions they've been pondering.

As always, I appreciate any feedback, questions and suggestions.

What makes an aluminum bottle different than a can or bottle?

The aluminum bottle has gained recent popularity, especially in Pennsylvania as Pittsburgh Brewing, makers of Iron City, I.C. Light, Old German, American brands and other beers, rolled out the can/bottle hybrid on regional level in 2004.

Shortly after, Anheuser Busch launched a number of its premium products in the 16-oz. aluminum bottle on a national level. (A Montana microbrewer was the first to use them for beer in 2003.) Like cans, they are made of aluminum, three times as much as cans, but they are shaped like a bottle.

Advertising campaigns have claimed they chill your beer faster and keep it colder longer.

They do cool beer faster than bottles and keep it colder slightly longer than cans, but due to that nasty thing called thermodynamics, you can't have it both ways.

As with cans, the inside is coated with a special lining to keep the beer from contacting aluminum.

The aluminum bottle is much more expensive than cans and bottles and fetches a premium price.

The added cost is due to the higher aluminum content, technology to make the bottle and high demand. While it combines the light protective and indestructible natures of a can with the firm feel of a bottle, there are no extraordinary advantages. The reason it sells is simple -- it's different.

People want to stand out and the sales have proven this.

Chris Straub is a senior majoring in chemical engineering and a Collegian columnist. He is also the great-great grandson of the founder of Straub beer. His e-mail address is cts150@psu.edu.