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Whelk · 02-06-2007, 02:59 PM

I just picked up a growler of porter from the Berkshire Brewing Company and I noticed that the metal screw-top was a little different from the plastic screwtop on the only other growler I have (from a HBS). The HBS growler has a little plastic bit on the inside of the cap, I assume to make the screwtop safe to use for bottle conditioning. Do you all think the metal screwtop will work, or should I play it safe and not use it?

Glibbidy · 02-06-2007, 03:19 PM

Growlers work best for transporting the finished product. I would not reccommend using them for anything other then propagating yeast or transporting beer.

Fiery Sword · 02-06-2007, 03:21 PM

I personally wouldn't bottle condition in a growler. I am pretty sure some do, but I would not......the caps aren't designed to be permanent, reliable seals, they are simply meant to do a good enough job to keep the beer drinkable for a few days or weeks. the breweries who are shipping with the metal caps have nice systems to pressure seal the caps.....they don't just screw them on like you or I would.

I use those same plastic double-caps from the LHBS and have had success pouring off a keg and having the beer still good up to 6-7 days later, provided you seal it at filling and then tighten it. Once you open it, it will only last a day or maybe two.

Fiery Sword · 02-06-2007, 03:24 PM

glibbidy is right tho, they make great vessels for yeast'ing. I have a troupe of Magic Hat, Cambridge Brewing Co and Cape Cod Beer growlers. When not drinking from them or yeast'ing and I'm really bored, I fill them up to different levels with water and play jug band songs on them.

Magic Hat meets WLP800:

Whelk · 02-06-2007, 04:25 PM

Haha, I like the jug band suggestion. Thanks for the help, I appreciate it--for the record, I had no problem with the double-cap after at least a month and a half, but I won't be using it again, just to be safe.

Since I'm lazy and don't want to dig around for a tape measure, what size rubber stopper is good for a growler? I'd imagine they're all the same size mouth, right?

**DesertBrew** · 02-06-2007, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whelk

Since I'm lazy and don't want to dig around for a tape measure, what size rubber stopper is good for a growler? I'd imagine they're all the same size mouth, right?

I don't remember the size, but I use the same one's that I use for my carboys. It's just a tighter fit. About 1/4" fits in there.

Whelk · 02-06-2007, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertBrew

I don't remember the size, but I use the same one's that I use for my carboys. It's just a tighter fit. About 1/4" fits in there.

Sounds good, thanks.

bnutting · 02-06-2007, 05:44 PM

I just bottled a growler using the same plastic cap that you describe with a nut brown ale. We only did one growler as a test, if it does not explode and holds the fizz then we know that we can use them!

I had a big discussion on this very topic on several forums and the general consensus was that the growlers would work with good caps. From what I've been told those cheap metal ones will probably not work.

Whelk · 02-06-2007, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bnutting

I just bottled a growler using the same plastic cap that you describe with a nut brown ale. We only did one growler as a test, if it does not explode and holds the fizz then we know that we can use them!

I had a big discussion on this very topic on several forums and the general consensus was that the growlers would work with good caps. From what I've been told those cheap metal ones will probably not work.

Yeah, I mean, the plastic cap worked fine, but I wasn't using it for more than a month or so. I doubt it'd be good for a very long time, but it's not like it's a huge deal to just use regular bottles, so I'm not going to run the risk of ruining a half-gallon of precious, precious beer.