Where can i buy cheap growlers?

Hi All,

Just was wondering if anyone has any ideas as to where i can buy cheap growlers. I'm hoping to hand out homebrew to friends in 64 oz containers and eliminate much of the tedious bottling work that i do.

Go to a micro brew pub, buy a growler full of beer. Go home and drink the beer, repeat... Just keep doing that until you have enough.

Check your LHBS. I was in KC a few months ago and stopped into one and they had used 1 gallon jugs for $1.50 each. Also make sure you get the black lids with plastic on the inside. It will keep the beer a while longer. just make sure you get them back and reuse them.

Our "local" pub won't fill a growler you don't buy from them...a$$wipes...

homebrewer_99 said:

Our "local" pub won't fill a growler you don't buy from them...a$$wipes...

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Geniuses!

You: "I'd like to buy some of your beer, on which you make a gross margin of >80%"
Them: "Not unless you buy this glass thingy, on which our gross margin is <20%"

No wonder so many brewpubs go under...

**** ten years ago out in WA (I unfortunately line in CT now, but that is another story) the local pubs would all fill mason jars if you brought em. as long as you could close it they would fill it. I remember once at my favorite brew pub I watched a guy come in and try to get the bar tender to fill a zip lock bag. I don't recall the outcome but I remember it being funny.

homebrewer_99 said:

Our "local" pub won't fill a growler you don't buy from them...a$$wipes...

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Not sure but I think some state laws dictate that growlers can only be filled if they are labeled and labeled with what they are filled with. Heard this one state, not sure how widespread this is.

Here in MN it is state law that only growlers that have the brewery name labled on it can be filled. There are a couple of places here in Duluth that fill growlers and neither of em will fill the other ones growlers.

There a couple of generalizations which can be made when buying a growler...


First, you are probably buying it to bring it to a place where there will be other people.

Second, some of the other people will probably drink some of the beer.

Third, they will assume the name on the growler is the name of the brewery from which the beer came.


In light of those three things, I don't think I'd fill other breweries growlers either.

http://www.shenandoahbrewing.com/pub/growlers.html

Not sure where in NY you are or how long of a drive it would be to VA--but these are the cheapest growlers i've seen--6 bucks for the empty and another 6 bucks or so to fill with one of there beers...so if you are planning a road trip might be worth stopping at

otherwise there's always AHS

Travis KilPatrick said:

http://www.shenandoahbrewing.com/pub/growlers.html

Not sure where in NY you are or how long of a drive it would be to VA--but these are the cheapest growlers i've seen--6 bucks for the empty and another 6 bucks or so to fill with one of there beers...so if you are planning a road trip might be worth stopping at

otherwise there's always AHS

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That's why I travel a lot with my own brews....

krispy d said:

**** ten years ago out in WA (I unfortunately line in CT now, but that is another story) the local pubs would all fill mason jars if you brought em. as long as you could close it they would fill it. I remember once at my favorite brew pub I watched a guy come in and try to get the bar tender to fill a zip lock bag. I don't recall the outcome but I remember it being funny.

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When I was in Butuan, Philippines visiting my fiance (now wife), I saw people carrying 'round plastic bags with Coke in 'em and a straw (the soft drink, not the powder).... when I asked my wife about it, she said that in order to keep the returnable bottles (yep! they still got glass returnable bottles, with Coke made with cane sugar, no less!!) the stores would pour your coke in a plastic bag.

Allan

My LHBS sells them for $13.

A microbrew I just went to (Barley and Hops) charges $15 for them, and fills them for $6 on Tuesdays.

I've seen some places charge $11 for them, but it's a drive for me. I figure that by spreading the cost of them out over... say... 10 or so fills, the price doesn't really matter much.

Blue Point Brewery makes some reasonable beers that are sold in many beverage centers in 1/2g growlers.

-a.

Beerrific said:

Not sure but I think some state laws dictate that growlers can only be filled if they are labeled and labeled with what they are filled with. Heard this one state, not sure how widespread this is.

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That is the case in California too. At least that's what they told me at Russian River Brewing.

ajf said:

Blue Point Brewery makes some reasonable beers that are sold in many beverage centers in 1/2g growlers.

-a.

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I love bluepoint. Actually, they gave me the idea to buy some empty growlers and fill them for my friends. I was gonna sell 'em for cheap. Like $5, basically at cost.

Wow, some of those prices for an empty growler seem really high, the LHBS around here sells them for $3.50 (and they pretty much suck), at northern brewer they are a little more but not much and you can get 6 for $15. I would shop around if you are looking for growlers to give out to people. Also make the same deal that i amke my friends, they don't get more beer until they bring the growler back. it is like an exchange program, bring me my growler back and you get another one filled with beer.

BTW I saw that you said that you are trying to help with the pain of bottling, i don't think that you are going to be able to bottle condition in the growlers.

Cheers

We have a few pubs around here that will sell you the growler for $10 - 12 and fill it for $4- 10 depending on the day and what brew you want.
I have 4 half gallon growlers that I hjave got from these places. I will have them refilled when I go there or I will fill them with my brew when I go to parties.

"Wow, some of those prices for an empty growler seem really high, the LHBS around here sells them for $3.50 (and they pretty much suck), at northern brewer they are a little more but not much and you can get 6 for $15. I would shop around if you are looking for growlers to give out to people. Also make the same deal that i amke my friends, they don't get more beer until they bring the growler back. it is like an exchange program, bring me my growler back and you get another one filled with beer. "




Are you able to post a link for norther brewer? if I'm thinking of the same northern brewer the cheapest growler I found on their site was like 24 for 1.

Look under Fermentors & Accesories, here is the link:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/ferment.html

Cheers

ok, thanks!

I just got a case of six brown 64oz'ers from Weekendbrewer. Cost me under $14 a case and theyre brown bottles

what about plastic growlers? I want to be able to bring my beer to friends on my bike but get scared of glass breaking when I put into a backpack

use a 2 liter (or 1 liter) soda bottle....you can bottle, cabonate & give away without worry. Works like a charm !!

efreem01 said:

Hi All,

Just was wondering if anyone has any ideas as to where i can buy cheap growlers. I'm hoping to hand out homebrew to friends in 64 oz containers and eliminate much of the tedious bottling work that i do.

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If you're ever in NJ, we have a brewery called Climax which makes some fine beers that are sold in growlers.

JoeyFumes said:

use a 2 liter (or 1 liter) soda bottle....you can bottle, cabonate & give away without worry. Works like a charm !!

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and if your beer looks like the soda you can drink em anywhere

I don't know if this would help, but I found this guide recently with some helpful info about buying growlers. Growlers: The Free Guide to Buying Growlers

Up in Oregon they have growler refill stations right. I was wondering if they have any of those down hear in California?

How many are you looking for? But you can get customised 1/2 gallon growlers for $3.85 at Grandstand Glassware but you have aminimum of 72 / $275! Although the benifit is you'll be able to "reposess" any that have you name on whenever visting those freinds that never return them! they also do 32 oz ones!