What do the dots on the bottom of glass bottles mean?

Many people have noticed the small bumps on the side of beer bottles, near the base (the “heel”). On older bottles, they were part of the glass mold and were often beside an embossed logo from the glass producer or bottler. Dating on older bottles helped bottlers know how long they had been in circulation.

What are the little dots on beer bottles?

According to our pals at Owens-Brockway, makers of lots and lots of bottles for lots and lots of beer companies, the string of tiny lumps is a binary or hex code (depending on manufacturer) that indicates in which set of molds the bottle was made.

What are the bumps on glass?

On older bottles, manufacturers would use the bumps as date codes, allowing them to see how long a bottle was in circulation. While this is still used some in modern manufacturing, they are generally used as mold markers, so if there are defects, the manufacturer can trace the source of the problem.

What are the bumps on the bottom of wine bottles?

Punts serve as a reminder that, at one point, glass was handmade. Wine bottles were blown long ago and the process required an entry and exit point for air. There’s also a fairly traditional means of cellaring a wine; on its side to keep the cork wet.

Why is there a bump on the bottom of my wine bottle?

Historically, punts were a function of wine bottles being made by glassblowers. The seam was pushed up to make sure the bottle could stand upright and there wasn’t a sharp point of glass on the bottom. It’s also thought that the punt added to the bottle’s structural integrity.

What are the most valuable antique bottles?

1. National Bridge White Beer Brewery Bottles – $2,700. The literal top of the heap belongs to these bottles which were described as being “extremely rare bottles” by Morphy Auctions.

How do you date vintage bottles?

There are three keys to help with dating most bottles:

1. Side seams: None: bottle may be free blown, in which case it has a very uneven shape and dates before 1860.
2. Base type (for examples, click here): Open pontilled: usually date before 1860.
3. Top type (for examples, see click here):

Why is there a bump at the bottom of wine bottles?

What are the ridges on the bottom of glass bottles?

Mold Parting Line: The bottom plate is the part of the mold that shapes the bottom of the container. The parting line is a slight horizontal ridge formed in the joint between two parts of the mold.

What does the hole in the bottom of a wine bottle mean?

punt
The large indent in the base of wine bottles is known as a punt. It is intended to strengthen the bottle and not to give the impression that the bottle contains more liquid than it really does.

What’s the sediment in wine called?

When sediment, dregs or the little crystals also known as “wine diamonds” appear in the bottom of a glass, they present no danger. Most of the time, sediment in wine is either tartrate crystals (“wine diamonds”) or spent yeast, called lees, which are both natural byproducts.