Bottling into growlers

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Most of the time, make that all of the time, yes there is risk. Growlers are meant to hold carbonated beer, not the pressure of actively carbonating beer. You may not have problems but you are using the container for something it wasn't designed for so there is a risk
 
JeepDiver said:
Most of the time, make that all of the time, yes there is risk. Growlers are meant to hold carbonated beer, not the pressure of actively carbonating beer. You may not have problems but you are using the container for something it wasn't designed for so there is a risk

I don't have any empirical or anecdotal evidence, but I find this hard to believe. How is the growler different from any other bottle? I was under the impression that almost any vessel designed to hold carbonated beverages was safe for bottling beer. Obviously there is always a risk of bottle bombs if you do not carbonate properly, but how is it different glass bottle to plastic bottle to growler?

Also, how do you get significantly more pressure DURING carbonation vs AFTER carbonation?
 
I think there are roughly one billion threads about this topic on this site if you'd like to search. I searched awhile back when I considered priming in growlers. To summarize, you may get away with it a few times, but eventually your growler will break. Usually it's at the rim where the sides and bottom meet. The bottles are not meant to withstand the increased pressure of carbing. Side note, my educated guess is that pressure is higher during carbing due to the co2 building up, but then drops once it's absorbed by the beer.
 
Growlers are meant to hold carbonaTED beer, not carbonATING beer.

There is a difference.Carbonating beer and carbonated beer are not the same. A growler is meant for CARBONATED beer, like from a tap, not beer that is bottle conditioning.

This is direct from northern brewer website:
Standard issue 64 oz liquid libation transport vessel for the Civilian Brewing Division. This growler features a blank white space for adding in details on the beer inside and date bottled; using a dry-erase marker allows you to change it at any time. Takes a #6 stopper or a 38 mm screw cap. Pressure capable to 2.4 volumes of co2, not recommended for highly carbonated beers. Avoid bottle carbonating or priming with these growlers, as an unintentionally high level of carbonation could cause the glass to break.
Civilian Brewing Division Growler : Northern Brewer

I would hate to see you have a mess.

There's always a few who say they have no problem, but folks also have sex without condoms- Or still smoke, despite knowing its risks.

To carb a beer whether or not is is done naturally or with co2 you are forcing the gas into the solution. The pressure builds up, then there's a point where either the bottle fails or the co2, seeking the path of least resistance, forces itself into solution. You could call it a peak point, where there is a lot of pressure in the bottle, both already in solution and in the headspace trying to go into the solution, eventually it balances out and the beer is carbed.

Beer bottles, champagne bottles and kegs are rated with a higher psi/volume of co2 than wine bottles and growlers.

Already carbed and kegged beer is at a stable volume of co2 which is below the volume that growlers and winebottles are rated at. The FORCING of the co2 already happened. Why do you think kegs are made of metal and very very strong? To handle the pressure.

Our Buddy Rukus

This is because during carbing, the pressure can go above 30 or 40 PSI. I have a thread in the cider forum where I did several tests bottle carbing sweet hard cider. There is allot of data there if your interested.

I have a bottle with a pressure gauge on it. I recorded pressures during the carbing process. This is how the data was generated. I also recorded pressures while pasteurizing the cider.

I recently bottled some lager I made. I also filled my gauge bottle and my lower pressure gauge bottle pegged at 35 PSI as that was the limit of the gauge. It probably ended up in the 40's, but no way to tell for sure.


When we bottle condition beer, we are really simulating force carbing like the keg folks do. We cause a ferment by adding sugar. This creates a high pressure in the bottle. CO2 doesn't like to dissolve in a warm liquid. We then put some bottles in the fridge. The temperature of the liquid drops and the CO2 then begins to dissolve in the liquid.

It seems to take several days at fridge temperatures for the CO2 to fully saturate the liquid for a maximum saturation for that liquid temperature.

While the CO2 is moving into the liquid, the pressure slowly drops. I've monitored this process as well with the pressure gauge.

Pressures go way higher than folks think while bottle conditioning. In the following data, I carbed sweet hard cider and stopped the carbing and then pasteurized the cider when the bottle was at 22 PSI. My Lager went above 35 PSI. The data doesn't show the extremes the pressure rises with beer as I stopped the cider at 22 PSI, but it would have continued if i hadn't stopped it.

The gauge bottle has a nice side effect, it tells you when your bottles are conditioned as the pressure rise stops. I then throw them in the Fridge to cold condition for several days before I open. The gauge also tells you when they are carbed as the pressure drop stops. Pretty basic really.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/bottle-carbing-idea-final-data-review-205862/

PressureTest-1.jpg

No, when you bottle condition, the slight fermentation we cause by adding priming sugar just builds pressure up in the bottle. The pressures seem to go up into the 30's and 40's PSI from what I've seen.

The CO2 doesn't really move into the liquid until the temperature drops. Some CO2 may, but not the majority of it. CO2 doesn't dissolve into solution until a lower temperature.

This is really what we do when we force carb in a keg. We raise the pressure up when the beer is cold. The CO2 moves into the solution. The tap pressure is lowered for proper delivery and the beer either sets for cold aging, or it is consumed at that time.

What you would see with the pressure gauge (if you use one bigger than my first bottle had. Should use a 100 PSI Gauge) is that the pressure climbs over time and will level off.

Once the pressure levels off, that means all of the priming sugar has been used up by the yeast. Next, you put them into the fridge. You will see the pressure drop over several days. Eventually, it also will level off. I like to let them sit for a few more days after that, but really if the pressure stops dropping, all of the CO2 that can be dissolved at that temperature has been achieved.
.

I think it goes down to this.....is it worth playing Russian Roulette with your money and the time you spent bringing your brew along from grain to bottling day???

For every guy that says they do it, we have 2-3 guys who posts threads like "Growler goes Boom"

Like this-

Don't do it. I used to and had a couple explode.
 
There's several threads below about why this is not a good idea. The best one I've read is the reply to JWest. 2-04-12

And I see Revvy sums it up nicely right up there ^
 
Do not assume that glass is glass is glass, all are manufactured to do different things

I do not have empirical scientific justification for what I am stating, just experience and have read enough threads of exploding growlers to tell you it is just not advisable.

When you are actively carbonating pressure is building in a confined vessel. When you add a carbonated beverage into a vessel there is no creation of additional pressure and that's the basic difference between the two.

Exploding glass. Vessels is not fun and very dangerous. With all the other options available I suggest you choose an alternate but to each their own.......:mug:
 
I'm a scientist and I needed experimental data. I have seen it, I believe it, I admit defeat.

It is still surprising to me that the pressure can go that high. I understand transient points, but I would have thought the CO2 would have gone into solution nearly as fast as it is created, regardless of temperature (even if it IS faster at low temps).
 
Topic has been beat to death, even I've searched it many times.

The fix is ghetto growlers,,,,, AKA carbonated water bottles of your size and choice.. Dump out the water, sterilize and fill up. Did this recently with my red ale and it worked like a charm.

Will be breaking out three 2 liters I filled up next weekend for christmas party. Works better than I ever expected and super cheap. I bought enough at the local grocery store to fill up 5 gallons worth and it cost less than $9 and their reusable.

now Git R Dun
 
People are always debating this on here, all I can say is one of my good friends who has been bottling in growlers for YEARS! and never had any blow.
 
Why would a growler be any less cable of carbonating a beer than a Sam Adams bottle? If one shakes up a carbonated beer, the pressures is going to be just as high in the bottle as carbonating. Just asking.
 
Is it me or does revvy have the best responses.

This is prob the 10th time ive read a post and said OMG i hope this guys still alive as i go to post a response on why i think its not a good idea and BAMM! Couldnt have said it better myself...really im actually astonished about that low pressure gauge bottle. What a great way to tell when peak carbonation has been reached!

Period. Growlers cannot be used for carbing. The pressure created during the second ferment before being absorbed into the liquid is VERY high. Oposed to Already carbed beer being housing in the vessel and reaching equilbrium pressure in the headspace.
 
Why would a growler be any less cable of carbonating a beer than a Sam Adams bottle? Just asking.

A beer bottle has a higher psi rating than a glass growler. It's MEANT to take the pressure of carbonation. A growler is only rated to have ALREADY CARBED beer in it. How difficult is this concept for people to grasp?
 
I think the fact of it all is growlers were not MADE or MEANT to use during carbonation. So yes you can use it but your taking a risk and it's simply something I'm not going to chance.
 
Why would a growler be any less cable of carbonating a beer than a Sam Adams bottle? If one shakes up a carbonated beer, the pressures is going to be just as high in the bottle as carbonating. Just asking.

Why would a mason jar, or pickle jar be any less capable? Because all glass isn't made the same.
 
Revvy's #7 post sums it all up pretty well!

That being said and to those that keep insisting they do it with no issue, to each their own, if you elect to use growlers then go ahead and do so at your own risk but DON'T sit here on this site telling people it's a fine practice because it is NOT and people can get injured due to your ignorance. If you choose to injure yourself, fine but don't put other people in harms way. For every 1 ding dong that says they do it with no problem there are more posts questioning why their growler exploded!
 
Why would a mason jar, or pickle jar be any less capable? Because all glass isn't made the same.

And THOSE, as most of us know, are meant to hold a vacuum, NOT outward pressure.

The ONLY safe alternative to a glass bottle ( not to mention stainless beer bottles, and a keg of course) is a plastic soda bottle. Whereas an industry standard glass bottle can hold no more than 3 volumes of co2, a pet soda or beer bottle can hold up to 10 volumes. If for whatever reason you don't want to bottle in glass beer bottles, save your pop bottles and use them.
 
Revvy's #7 post sums it all up pretty well!

That being said and to those that keep insisting they do it with no issue, to each their own, if you elect to use growlers then go ahead and do so at your own risk but DON'T sit here on this site telling people it's a fine practice because it is NOT and people can get injured due to your ignorance. If you choose to injure yourself, fine but don't put other people in harms way. For every 1 ding dong that says they do it with no problem there are more posts questioning why their growler exploded!

And besides the safety risk, if it blows, you've just wasted a 1/2 gallon of beer you spent time and money on.
 
The fix is ghetto growlers,,,,, AKA carbonated water bottles of your size and choice.. Dump out the water, sterilize and fill up.


now Git R Dun

No! Mix the carbonated water with fruit juice and sugar and give it to the kiddies instead of Coke!
 
I walk across the street all the time without getting hit by a car....mayb todays the day?

Man, are you serious!! I dont give a damn if the OP does bottles, cans, growlers, or gatorare bottles, all I said was i have a friend who has only used growlers. To be more specific for the past 12 years!!!! Hundreds of batches and never had one pop. maybe today is the day thats someones bottle will break too but thats not a good reason to stop using them is it?
 
Man, are you serious!! I dont give a damn if the OP does bottles, cans, growlers, or gatorare bottles, all I said was i have a friend who has only used growlers. To be more specific for the past 12 years!!!! Hundreds of batches and never had one pop. maybe today is the day thats someones bottle will break too but thats not a good reason to stop using them is it?

My grandpa smoked until he was 95! Never got cancer!!
 
Man, are you serious!! I dont give a damn if the OP does bottles, cans, growlers, or gatorare bottles, all I said was i have a friend who has only used growlers. To be more specific for the past 12 years!!!! Hundreds of batches and never had one pop. maybe today is the day thats someones bottle will break too but thats not a good reason to stop using them is it?

It has been pretty well established here that growlers were not designed to be used for bottle-conditioning beer. That said, there will always be someone who doesn't care if they were or not. Maybe they will wind up as an entry in the Darwin Awards website, and maybe they won't.
 
Hi everyone, I am new to this site and relatively new brewer. I was wondering if anybody has the answer to this. when I fill my growler from my kegerator it seem to not hold up the carbonation (flat) if is left there for more then a couple hour. I don know what is the problem. I am force cabonating for 48 hours at 40psi for 24hours and then at 20psi for 24 hours then drop it to 5 to 10 to despe it. Thanks
cheers:drunk:
 
Heisenberg23 said:
Hi everyone, I am new to this site and relatively new brewer. I was wondering if anybody has the answer to this. when I fill my growler from my kegerator it seem to not hold up the carbonation (flat) if is left there for more then a couple hour. I don know what is the problem. I am force cabonating for 48 hours at 40psi for 24hours and then at 20psi for 24 hours then drop it to 5 to 10 to despe it. Thanks
cheers:drunk:

If you are carbed going into the growler and flat coming out, your growler is leaking. To check, put a balloon over the cap after filling. If the balloon inflates, you have diagnosed your problem. Soapy water would show the same (assuming it IS a leak).

Cheers.
 
You may not be getting good carbonation with that schedule, either. You could have a lot of gas that hasn't quite disolved into the beer well.

When you open the carboy, do you hear a gush of CO2, or is there nothing? A gush would indicate that you don't have good dilution of the CO2 into the beer and it's all in the headspace. no gush tells us you've got leaky caps.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top