Filling a Growler For Friends....

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GweedoeBrew

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Ok so I was recently at a small brewery to visit and I took home a growler of their IPA.... I am not a big growler guy... so this was the first time I have ever seen one filled... and basically the brewer hooked up a Vinyl Tube to the tap and put the hose in the growler... and filled it....

Said that the beer would hold for a few weeks...


So my questions is... Can I do the same with my taps and home brew? like if I am going to a party and want to take some of my beer... can I just hook a hose to my tap and fill a growler.... simple as that??
 
Yes. Growlers are pretty simple. I have a bottling wand on the end of a hose that I use for filling mine. They only last a week tops though before they start going flat.
 
Check out this post:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/we-no-need-no-stinking-beer-gun-24678/

I have not done this with beeer yet, but have filled growlers with birch beer before and they do hold carbonation pretty well.

The nice thing about this is that you wont lose as much carbonation as you would just hooking up the vinyl tube

This is great for bottling and long term storage. But for a growler to take to a friends and drink that night or the next, A tube will suffice.
 
I've brought growlers to several parties and I just fill it up like a normal pint glass with no tube or anything. Try that first. I've always operated under the assumption that a growler won't last more than 3 days.
 
I bought one of these bottle fillers mentioned in another thread. http://centerlinemachining.com/

homebrew.jpg
 
I've brought growlers to several parties and I just fill it up like a normal pint glass with no tube or anything. Try that first. I've always operated under the assumption that a growler won't last more than 3 days.

No foaming problems? or partial fill, let settle, fill and cap on foam?
 
I bought one of these bottle fillers mentioned in another thread. http://centerlinemachining.com/

Would you just attach this to a small racking cane with rubber stopper for a BMBF? This would be easier than opening my keezer and everything!! This is on my list of prucahses! That's just what I needed. Something else on that list :D

$17...hmmmmm
 
Would you just attach this to a small racking cane with rubber stopper for a BMBF? This would be easier than opening my keezer and everything!! This is on my list of prucahses! That's just what I needed. Something else on that list :D

$17...hmmmmm

Yup. But you can also just connect a hose to it then over to you growler. But yeah this works perfectly with BMBF filler and a carboy stopper fits perfectly in my growler.
 
I have had good luck with the BMBG and German style growlers (swing top). Stone has a pretty cool one that I picked up a couple of months ago, but I'm sure plain ones work as well.
 
I cool the growler in the fridge the day before and just lower the gas to around 3-4 psi vent the keg and just let it rip with the growler tilted. I usually can fill to the top with no head or foaming this way. I don't worry about O2 as it will be drunk that day anyway.
 
Any homebrewer worth their salt doesn't need 2+ days to kill a 1/2 gallon growler. Come on people. This is your own homemade beer. You're taking it to a friends to let him sample. You're going to open it upon visiting, and at least 1/2 will be gone. If he doesn't finish it in time to prevent flatness he gets no more beer.

If I take a growler to a buddies I am taking the empty home with me that night.
 
I buy beer from a local brewery in growlers all the time. They’ll often do small batches that are only available in growlers. I usually get three filled and sometimes one or two will sit in the fridge for almost 2 weeks. I find they’ll last that long as long as I don’t open the growler. Once you do that you have until the end of the next day to drink it or it’s flat.
 
Would you just attach this to a small racking cane with rubber stopper for a BMBF? This would be easier than opening my keezer and everything!! This is on my list of prucahses! That's just what I needed. Something else on that list :D
$17...hmmmmm
Here's how I do it. Same procedure for growlers but a bigger stopper - I think a #6 is just about right. It's also great for 1L and 2L soda bottles for when you can't take glass.

[youtube]7IgVx3h5llA[/youtube]

If you don't have Perlick faucets you can also make it work by jamming a 1/2" tube over the spout WITH A CLAMP and reducing that down to the 3/8" you need for the racking cane.

-Joe
 
I cool the growler in the fridge the day before and just lower the gas to around 3-4 psi vent the keg and just let it rip with the growler tilted. I usually can fill to the top with no head or foaming this way. I don't worry about O2 as it will be drunk that day anyway.

+1! No tubing needed with this method. You can fill right to the top without excess foaming. Just tip as much as possible.
 
Thanks for the vid. I've always been curious how over people use the stopper. I fill till stops then vent, the resume filling still stops, then vent. Pain. Good to see no issues of venting the whole fill once it' initially stops.
 
Any homebrewer worth their salt doesn't need 2+ days to kill a 1/2 gallon growler. Come on people. This is your own homemade beer. You're taking it to a friends to let him sample. You're going to open it upon visiting, and at least 1/2 will be gone. If he doesn't finish it in time to prevent flatness he gets no more beer.

If I take a growler to a buddies I am taking the empty home with me that night.
WOO HOO, Come on man, tell me the outcome. Sh*t man, who goes home without an empty growler? I could stay home, and it would still be empty. what are we talking about here, 4 pints for two guys. ............
 

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