BaltimoreBeerBottles.com

Bottles blown in molds required that the blower create a lip or top of the bottle.  Originally the bottle would be removed from the mold and an additional glob of glass would be gathered and "applied" to the bottle.  With the improvement in bottle molds, only a tool was needed to form the lip.  Bottles with applied lips are identified in their description.

The original closure used on Blob Top bottles was a cork or cork and wire tie.  Tied Wire & Cork examples have been found on both Baltimore beer and stoneware bottles.

The Lightning Stopper can be found on many early Baltimore beer bottles.  It was the first "recyclable" stopper that was used over and over and only replaced when it failed.

Hutter's porcelain stopper can be found on many Baltimore beer bottles from the early 1890s-1919.  Hutter stoppers can be found on Blobs, Loopseals and Crown Tops on Baltimore beer examples.

Blob tops also had the opportunity to receive William Painter's Wizard closure.  Only one example of a Baltimore beer bottle with this closure has been documented.

Invented by William Painter, the "Loopseal" was a rubber disc with a small metal loop.  The disc was pressed into a ring area of the bottle.  A hook or extractor tool was used to pry out the loopseal and enjoy the beer.

Invented by William Painter, the "Crown top" was a metal cap with a cork insert.  The crown top bottle allowed the Crown Cork to be pressed onto the bottle with the sides of the metal cap locking into the exterior lip of the bottle.  Crown tops are still in use everywhere today.

The Aluminum Cork Seal used a slight depression in the neck of the bottle where an aluminum disc was affixed.  While not a William Painter invention he did patent a tool to remove it!

The Universal seal was a cumbersome rubber disc and metal parts contraption that when assembled applied pressure to the rubber disc to retain the beer in the bottle.  It was a short lived endeavor with only a few Baltimore and surrounding breweries piloting its use.

The Columbia Bottle Cap was a very short lived idea.  It was only used on a Columbia promotional bottle and a Baltimore Branch Iroquois Brewing Company bottle.

  ABM (Automatic Bottle Machine) glass is mass-produced by machines, creating identical, uniform items with mold seams and often a thicker, more regular appearance.  ABM bottles have the side seam of the bottle that extends up and over the lip of the bottle.  While most ABM bottles have a Crown top, some were made with a Blob top.