Growler Question

Brand new brewer here, about a week away from bottling my first batch of beer.

Quick and simple question. I've read on multiple forums that it is inadvisable to carbonate your beer in a growler. From what I read, I'm convinced that it doesn't make sense to do so. Between the risk of explosion, to the sediment get mixed with each pour, I've decided against conditioning any beer in the one growler I purchased.

But my question is this... After my beer has been fully carbonated in regular 22oz bottles, I was thinking I wanted to fill the growler with carbonated beer to take to someones house to share by first brew. That way, for me, I don't have to worry about explaining how to pour beer without releasing any of the sediment, or that sediment is not harmful, blah de blah, etc, etc. While I'm personally not put off by the sediment, I know some people will be hesitant to try my homemade beer because of it. And I want to share! So if I did fill a growler with pre-carbonated beer, how will that hold if I plan on drinking it within the day? Will it seem flat at all, or lose any of the head and body as if it was poured straight from the bottle? I know they fill growlers at bars from the tap, and they seem to stay pretty fresh for the first couple of days. I was just not sure if this would be the same sort of deal. While I like the idea of letting everyone pour for themselves without having to worry about sediment, I do not want to do so at the expense of the integrity of my beer.

Thanks, and cheers!

That's what they're made for, you'll be fine.

Rick

Exactly! That's what they are made for! Carb it up, put it in the growler and GO GO GO!

Now that I think about it, if they're not made to carbonate in then obviously this is there intended purpose. Thanks for pointing out what should have been apparent to me y'all. Appreciate it!

You could, a growler is meant to hold CARBONATED beer. Which is what you intend to put in there. But why?

Just because bmc is filtered and pasteruized and lifeless beer, plenty of craft beers, including MOST BELGIAN beers have sediment in the bottles....Both commercial AND homebrew is bottle conditioned. Just because we were raised with ONE STYLE of beer that is crystal clear, why do so many new brewers and their "friends" seem to fear sediment.

Just take 5 seconds to teach your friends how to pour from the shoulder. And their beer will be clear.




Your friends may have already tried craft beer, and may already be used to properly pouring bottle conditioned beer into a glass. If not, it ain't hard.

Another thing to do is to limit the amount of sediment in your bottles AHEAD of time. The simplest way I find is to leave the beer in primary for a month, and CAREFULLY rack the beer OFF the trub, by keeping the autosiphon above the trub level while racking. Cold crashing helps too, AND leaving your beer in the fridge for AT LEAST a week, (longer is better) which will make the yeast cake on the bottom of your beer like concrete and won't pour out anyway.

You should see a beer in your fridge for 3 months, you can upend the bottle and shake the hell out of it, and it still pours like a budweiser.

Well put Revvy. And I agree with what you say. And for my friends who have an appreciation for craft beer, I do not plan to shield them from the sediment. But for my parents and in-laws, who have probably had less than 10 styles of beer in their life combined, I fear they will be put off by the sediment enough that they would not want to try it at all. Maybe eventually I will be able to convince them of the harmlessness of the sediment, but I would like to convince them first that just because it's a homebrew does not mean it's not a good brew!

Also, thanks for the advice on limited sediment ahead of time. That's definitely very helpful.

Yeah, I have a sister inlaw that won't drink homebrew due to the stuff on the bottom. Of course she thinks Bud lite lime is the greatest thing ever so.....

Rick

So your going to pour beer from bottles into a Growler? Wouldn't it just be easier to teach them how to pour from a bottle. If they refuse to drink it then that means more for you

Haha, touche Rick. Which is why us who appreciate a good beer must expand their horizons. And sometimes that requires some sugar coating.

Exactly! That's what they are made for!

Growlers are usually filled from the bottom up to avoid releasing all the CO2. If you poured the beer from the bottle into the growler you are going to release a lot of CO2 just like what happens when you pour a beer into a glass. The head is CO2 coming out of the beer. It just won't be as carbonated when you go to drink it later. It will be like pouring a pint and drinking it 5 hours later.

You would be better off showing them to pour slowly and stop when the yeast is close to pouring out...or pour it for them.

h22lude said:

Growlers are usually filled from the bottom up to avoid releasing all the CO2. If you poured the beer from the bottle into the growler you are going to release a lot of CO2 just like what happens when you pour a beer into a glass. The head is CO2 coming out of the beer. It just won't be as carbonated when you go to drink it later. It will be like pouring a pint and drinking it 5 hours later.

You would be better off showing them to pour slowly and stop when the yeast is close to pouring out...or pour it for them.

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Good point.

Another thing, if you do try, is to do like we do when filling growlers from kegs, and that is making sure the growler is ice cold.