Bottle Deposit Scheme

At Inner North we care about the environment and we care about providing a high calibre product at a reasonable price, for this reason back in December 2019 we launched our reusable bottle program, these reusable bottles, we also call "grottles".

How it works

Every time we sell a bottle of our beer, we charge a $2 bottle deposit.  Every bottle you return entitles you to $2 of credit towards your next Inner North Brewing Co purchase. We then clean, sanitise and reuse the bottles.

At the brewery: You can either use your credit on the spot, or we can issue you a bar voucher to be used at another time.

Local Delivery (local online orders): Your online shopify account will be credited at the time of collection or, failing that, within a one month period for bottles returned to our delivery person. This means that if you shop online with us you can still take advantage of the bottle deposit scheme without the need to lug a bunch of bottles back to the brewery.

Frequently asked questions:

I think I get it... Can you provide an example?

Example 1: Daniel buys 3 bottles of Easy Pale at the brewery for $21 + $6 in bottle deposits, or $27 total.  He drinks them and then takes them back to the brewery and orders another 3 bottles of Easy Pale, this time it only costs him $21

Can I get cash back for returning bottles?

No.  At the moment with COVID-19 we do not have any cash on premises so it is simply not an option.  You can ask for a bar voucher instead.

I have a lot of bottles, how do I get rid of them without losing the deposit?

Return them to the brewery and use them to purchase a smaller number of bottles, or buy some cans, or fill a growler, or have a pint (if the bar is open again post-COVID-19). Or you can exchange for a bar voucher.

Example 2: Kirby buys 12 bottles of When life gives you lemongrass... for $70 + $24 in bottle deposits, or $94 in total.  He brings his 12 bottles back to the brewery and because he is on his way to the supermarket and doesn't want to carry a bunch of beer with him he asks for a $24 bar voucher which he can use at a later time.  He goes to do his shopping on on his way home pops back in and uses his bar voucher towards purchasing 3 bottles of Easy Pale.  Normally this would cost $27 but as he gets $24 off for returning his bottles, this costs him just $3. 

What if I'm just visiting for the weekend and want to buy a slab? How can I claim the bottle deposit?

You can return your bottles to the brewery before you leave and use the credit for either a smaller number of bottles, or for purchasing cans or merch at the bar.  Or, post COVID you can use it to buy a pint while you wait for your Uber to take you to the airport

Example 3: Graeme is visiting Melbourne and buys 12 bottles of When life gives you lemongrass... for $70 + $24 in bottle deposits, or $94 in total.  He brings his 12 bottles back to the brewery on his way to the airport and gets $24 credit which he uses towards buying an Inner North T-shirt.

If I live locally and am ordering online only, how do I return my bottles?

If you qualify for local delivery with our online store, then you can return your bottles directly to our delivery person.  Credit will be added to your account which you can use on our online shop.

Example 3: Joel lives in Coburg and does his best to #stayathome.  He orders online a 6-pack of Lurve IPA for $62 (online price includes the $12 in bottle deposits) and the free local delivery arrives the next day.  He drinks all six bottles way faster than he thought he would so he orders another six bottles for $62.  This time when his delivery arrives he returns the six empty bottles he has at home to the delivery person.  The delivery person will return them to the brewery and Joel will receive a gift card code after the end of the month for $12.

Can I convert my online credit into bar credit

Yes you can! Simply use your online credit to purchase a bar voucher online.

Example 4: Sam lives in Brunswick and has just sprained his ankle.  Sam during the month of April orders 48 bottles of different beer and returns 43 of them via the delivery person.  On May 1st he receives a discount code for $96.  Sam knows he can order a bunch of beer online using his code, but now that his ankle is better he would prefer to use his credit to fill growlers at the brewery.  So Sam uses his gift card code online to purchase a Bar Voucher which he can then take with him to the brewery to use to pay for his growler fills.

Why reusable bottles, why don't you just can your beer like everyone else?

1. It's better for the environment - Reuse is way better for the environment than recycle. It uses far fewer resources for us to clean and re-use bottles than it does for the council to collect single-use packaging, take it to a recycling facility, have it processed into a recycled material and then taken to a manufacture to turn it back into packaging and then have the manufacturer deliver it back to us.
2. It's better value for you - We don't have our own packaging line so canning is an expensive process for us.  Not only do we have to pay for the cans, the labels, the six-pack clips, and the cardboard boxes... but we also have to pay for a mobile canning line to come to our brewery and provide us the service of canning our beer.  With bottles we only have to pay for the label dangling from the neck of the bottle and the bottle top.  What we save, you save.
3. More options for you - Until we have our own canning line, we will never be able to offer you all of our beers in cans.  With bottles we can bottle extremely small one-off releases.
4. Fill-on-the-spot flexibility - If you come to the bar and we have a beer on tap that you absolutely love, you can get bottles filled immediately to take home with you.  Apart from nitro'd beers, you can take away any of our beers on tap.  No need to buy a growler or run home to get one, no need to wait until we get around to packaging some.
5. 750ml is a great size - Share it with a friend and its exactly like having two cans, or have it on you own and it's not too much.  With a 2L growler you have to worry about either drinking all of it, or it going flat.  With a 1L canimal/crowler, you have to be ready to commit before you crack into that 1L novelty container you paid big bucks for.