NooB question...Growlers

OK, total NOOB question. I have heard people talking about filling Growlers to take to a party, friends, etc....Is a Growler just a one gallon glass jug like wine comes in? And if so do you just sanitize, and fill up off your tap? Or do you use one of the fance bottle fillers made out of the racking cane/ rubber stopper/ and picnic tap? (Im making one of those after Christmas, I think Santa is bringing me some gift cards from LHBS)... Thanks in advance...

Growler: http://beeradvocate.com/articles/384

I have a few of these http://www.beer-wine.com/product_info.asp?productID=75&sectionID=1 (1 liter, amber) that I bought with beer in them.

I use the rubber stopper/bottle wand/picnic tap combo for mine. I also don't bother sanitizing them, just give them a good rise after use and a quick rinse before filling. The beer never sits very long in them so no risk of infections.

You can fill it off your tap if you are not getting a lot of foam. If you have a cobra tap you can stretch some 3/8" vinyl tubing over the outlet and either place the other end in the growler or you can attach your bottling wand to the other end. Be sure to refrigerate the growler before you fill it. This will help keep the foam down.
I love using growlers to bring beer to parties. It is always well received and it works good. The carbonation seems to stay pretty good.

So how about using one gallon glass "wine jugs" as growlers? I bought one to put Alpfenwein in, but if it would work to take a gallon to a party that would be sweet.....

From my understanding, you can really use anything that has a decent seal to carry your beer to a party. You won't really have to worry about light or much carbonation loss if you fill before you leave.

If this is something you want to fill up say a week before a party then I would treat the process as if you were bottling normally, ie beer wand or whatever.

No, I would fill it right before I left....Like going to my parents house from Christmas, etc....Thanks for the tips...Im going to make one of those bottle fillers out of a picnic tap like a lot of you are doing...

One thing to consider is whether or not the jug is rated for pressure. I assume you are talking about something like this:

http://www.beer-wine.com/product_info.asp?productID=1039&sectionID=2

Which, I would NOT put a carbonated beverage in and cap. That, IMHO, is asking for a 1 gallon cider grenade when it pressurizes to 15-25psi in the trunk on the way to the party. It might hold the pressure... but its not designed to do it.

IMHO the cheap way to do this would be to use 2-3 liter plastic sprite/soda water bottles if you don't want to put down money on some growlers or big swing tops for presentation value.

I have a couple of those style growlers that Jim linked to, and they don't seal properly for long term storage anyways. The caps are very flimsy and typically vent any over pressure.

i have a few growlers from local breweries. i was thinking of picking up some stoppers to stick in the top for bottling (and bottle conditioning) purposes.

but it sounds like this may not be a good idea?

when i pick up the growlers they have a screw cap with a piece of tape over the top. any idea on how to figure out if they can handle the pressure?

I get growlers from the local microbrewery that they store beer in (bulk fill, then swap out for empties), and I wouldn't think twice about transporting my own beer in them, providing they were kept cold the whole time.

Suggest finding a local brewery that sells their beer in growlers. Not only can you keep the growler, but it comes with beer, and there is a discount if you bring it back in to get it filled. Or, you can keep a few to take your beer on the road!!

I have a couple of Michigan Brewing Company Growlers, and it was totally worth the price just for the beer. The growler to keep was a nice bonus.

For what its worth most growlers with the flip top fit a #10 sized stopper.

Get a drilled one and use the racking cane/cobra tap bottle filler method and they will stay carbonated for weeks. Of course the point of this is to take and drink, so once you open that top....drink it in one sitting [sharing is optional].