Bottling FROM a Growler

Before we get any knee-jerk reactions to the words "bottling" and "growler" in the same sentence, let me once again clarify that I want to bottle FROM a growler. (As in out of a growler and into a bottle)

My wife an I recently returned from a trip to Richmond to visit my parents. While there we stumbled upon Capital Ale House and I nearly shed tears of joy. 77 beers on tap and over 300 in the bottle. I live in an area where I am lucky to see Yuengling on tap and the nearest bar is a 20 minute drive.

Long story short, they had an amazing sour ale (Bockor Cuvee des Jacobins Rouge). It costs $10.50 for a 10oz glass or $27.00 for a 64 oz growler. Naturally I went for the growler. Being a very sour ale, I can only drink it in small quantities and sporadically so I think it will take me a while to go through the growler. Thus I get to my question: Is it feasible for me to bottle the beer from the growler?

I know that I will lose some carbonation during the process but certainly less than leaving it in a growler for a week. I'd also like to save a bit to savor later in the year. Would it having been put into a growler that was not sanitized make it more likely to become infected with something that I don't want in there?

Any suggestions or anecdotes are welcome.

Cap ale is awesome!! I lived in across the street from the one in the Short Pump area for a few years. Boy do I miss that place. Did you go to that one or the one in Midlothian?

As far as bottling from the growler... it is technically possible but like you said you're gonna lose some carbonation. My recommendation is to put your bottles in the freezer until they are ice cold. Chill the growler down until its super cold too. Use some sort of siphon to very, very gently transfer the contents to a bottle. Put a cap on but don't cap it. Hold the cap tight and gently tip the bottle upside down then back. It will start foaming up, as soon as the foam reaches the top of the bottle, cap it. This will push out the oxygen and keep your beer fresher longer. Alternatively you could try using the oxygen absorbing bottle caps.

If you were planning on drinking it sooner than later you could probably worry less. Either way make sure they bottles are ice cold and you transfer as gently as possible.

Peace!

Thanks for the tips. I do have a bag of oxygen absorbing caps, so I may cap it with those just to be safe.

We went to the one in Innsbrook. My wife and I decided that we will be moving to the Short Pump area in the next two of years based solely on Capital Ale House. I did live in Short Pump about 20 years ago, but it was nothing but farm land at that point.

Just curious; why does the growler and beer bottle(s) have to be ice cold?

Jordan71017 said:

Just curious; why does the growler and beer bottle(s) have to be ice cold?

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Cold beer holds more CO2. Dump cold beer into a warm bottle, beer warms, CO2 immediately starts coming out of solution.

Good to know. TY

Will transferring beer from growler to bottle have any other adverse effects besides losing carbonation? Like maybe losing flavor for example?

The loss of carbonation will change the flavor a bit, but depends on the style of the beer and how much it was carb'd already. Purging out the o2 will help keep it from oxidizing, but thats already taking place, depending on how it was filled and if you've opened it already.

Just keep it all cold, and give it a shot. Worst case you are out $27 worth of beer.