One of our local leaders in sustainabiltiy, Double Mountain Brewery & Taproom has long been a pioneer of reusable/refillable beer bottles. Double Mountain's latest important advancement is also great for beer lovers who enjoy a smaller package, the brewery now has refillable 12oz glass bottles and 6-packs. The brewery has also taken the opportunity to introduce a Pale Ale in 12oz bottles.More from a press release:A little over a year ago we introduced Hop Lion to our year round beers. Now our new 12oz refillable bottles are available filled with our delicious Hop Lion and the new Pale Ale, currently available at our Hood River Taproom and SE Portland Taproom in the Woodstock neighborhood. Look for them now on shelves in your neighborhood and throughout the Northwest!Double Mountain started bottling in 2012 and was the first brewery on the West Coast to bring the idea of refillable glass bottles back to the market place. “I've been brewing for over 25 years and I grew up in an area of the country that still used refillable bottles when I was in college.” -says Matt Swihart. Most refillable glass in the United States started transitioning to one-way glass (throw-away or recycled) in the 70s. Prior to our introduction of refillable glass in the Northwest, only two breweries in the US still packaged beer in the world’s most sustainable container. Double Mountain has worked with the OBRC (Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative) to set up a local recycling infrastructure that allows the purchase of glass locally, Then the used glass is collected for the purpose of having it cleaned and refilled.Oregon breweries are extremely well positioned to take advantage of the new refillable bottle program. With the new program we can purchase glass locally, bottles get collected and separated, cleaned and brought back to the brewery ready to be refilled. Double Mountain and the OBRC would like to set a new standard and model that other states can emulate. Since proving the concept in Oregon, we have now set up collection sites in the Seattle area and beyond, getting the glass back to Oregon and ultimately expand our efforts. Almost every nation has been proving refillable containers work and will continue to work for the sustainable future of our planet since refillable bottles can be cleaned and reused 20-30 times before replacement."As a brewery with a sustainable mindset, we recognize that packaging is one of the ways we can reduce the impact we have on our environment and lessen the carbon footprint of our beer. We are so incredibly excited to be the first to introduce Oregon’s refillable bottle, now in 6-packs across the state of Oregon and throughout the Northwest. Oregon is leading the nation with the most sustainable way to package beer.” Brewmaster/Owner Matt Swihart.The following link from OPB has more information about the program; Oregon Launches First Statewide Refillable Bottle System In US