Can I Condition in a Growler?

I have received two different opinions from both of my local homebrew shops... Ones said "Sure, no problem..." the other stated "It will explode, the glass is too thin"

So my new Homebrew Homies --- whats your take?


The reason I want to use growlers is because:
1. they have screw tops
2. when I roll into my pals places I can bring a growler instead of 3 bottles of beer.

Thanks a bunch!

As long as the beer has completed primary fermentation it should be safe. Always take hydrometer readings to confirm that the beer is around terminal gravity. Once the beer has attenuated and conditioned it can be bottled in growlers. I thinkl you might have to cut down on the sugar by a little when you bottle because you are using larger volumes of beer.

I don't have an answer (though everything I've heard and read says don't do it), but if it were me, I'd try it. But don't put all your eggs in one basket. Do a normal bottling and then do, say, 3 growlers or so. Put them in a cardboard box inside a couple of garbage bags in case they do blow. Let us know what you find out.

It won't blow up any easier than a bottle will. My concern is that it'll be flat. I don't think screwtop growlers will seal well enough to carbonate. Even when you buy a growler from the microbrew places, the beer is pretty flat after a couple of days even if you don't open it. If you had a growler with a grolsch type resealable top, maybe it would work.

I, on the other hand, believe the glass is too thin to withstand the pressure of natural carbonation, but to each his own...give it a try and let us know what the results were.

If you dont care about looks, use 2 liter plastic soda bottles.

I've heard it's not a good idea, nor have I tried it.

Maybe to ward off the flatness problem of gas escaping through the threaded cap, try using some teflon tape around the bottle threads and then cap it.

Then put the bottle in a burlap sack, in 2 plastic bags, and then in a locked cooler with a vent of some sort. Just in case.

I have a very keen interest in growler bottling as well, it really seems like if it works it could be a pretty ideal solution. It seems to me that there has to be some way to make it happen. I have a growler at home that im going to fill with soda and then tightly cap, might give some indication of sealing capabilities.

wiki says

"A 'growler' is a half gallon (64 US fl. oz.) (1.89 Litres) glass jug used to transport draft beer in America. They are commonly sold at breweries and brewpubs as a means to sell take-out beer. Some breweries also offer a one-litre version.

Growlers generally are made of glass and have a tin or plastic screw-on cap or a hinged porcelain gasket cap which can provide freshness for a few days before losing carbonation. [2] Growlers can be reused indefinitely."


we'll see about that

try one of these. should work just fine.

Did you give it a shot? How did it turn out?

One of my last batches this summer bottled into 2 growlers (plus bottles)..
1 is fine.
The second blew the screwtop off the growler.

Not to hijack this thread, but......

Does anybody know if there are cappable growlers?

And I don't mean these:

I filled 2 growlers with my winter wassail before Christmas. They are the ones with the plastic screw caps. Both caps were bulging within a couple of days. I opened the first one on Xmas eve, and it had some pressure, but wasn't too highly carbonated. The other one got opened last Saturday, after probably about 12 days of carbonation. I swore the cap was going to blow off but it held on somehow. Again, it wasn't very highly carbonated, but then neither were the regular beer bottles from the same batch, so that doesn't really mean that the cap was leaking per se.

I guess what I'm saying is, it seems like the caps wouldn't be able to stand up to the pressure of a fully conditioned batch of beer. But the glass breaking is not a concern at all. These things are much thicker than a beer bottle, and it would be more likely that the cap blows off, cracks open, or just leaks at the gasket seal before there is enough pressure to compromise the glass.

found some grolsch-style growlers:
http://www.williamsbrewing.com/2_LITER_SWING_TOP_JUGS_-_6_Ac_P1941C49.cfm

I asked this same question in my intro page. I had the same concerns about the cap, as every growler I have bought has gone flat quick.

So....I was thinking, if I growler condition I may use these:

http://www.plasticoid.com/Expansionplugs.htm

Stainless steel hardware, and many different materials.
The way these are designed, is that the more pressure applied, the harder they seal.

Guess that would test the bottles strength.

ldog said:

found some grolsch-style growlers:
http://www.williamsbrewing.com/2_LITER_SWING_TOP_JUGS_-_6_Ac_P1941C49.cfm

Click to expand...

Oh man those are sexy!!! Those would be nice for like a special christmas brew.

But on the label I would state that merely the contents on the growler are the actual gift.....I want the bottle back!! 47$ for 6 growlers, plus shipping.
:rockin:

Whenever I botteled my first batch I bottled a growler just to try it. I used a poly seal cap like this and opened it up 4 weeks later with no problems what so ever.

I've conditioned apfelwein for 4+ months in one of these growlers. I put a little keg lube on the gasket and it was great. The lid closes on quite tight.

YooperBrew said:

Even when you buy a growler from the microbrew places, the beer is pretty flat after a couple of days even if you don't open it.

Click to expand...

Ive had growlers filled up at my local micro and one them stayed good for about a month and a half before it was consumed. It didnt have any lack of carbonation or off flavors, it was pretty damn good actually. Just wanted to add my 2 cents.

I've used growlers several times, with caps specifically designed for conditioning therein. I've also heard of people using teflon tape around the top to make the seal even stronger. as a general rule of thumb, you should reduce the amount of priming sugar used when you're bottling in larger vessels like growlers.

I've had beer in growlers for more than a year. Only the hefe went bad. But that's hefe for you.

Edit: I should add that I'm assuming you are talking about swing tops. At least, that's what I'm talking about.

I've read numerous times that the glass of growlers is too thin to safely withstand the pressures carbonation. Having the bar fill a growler with an already carbonated beer that is only going to lose pressure from the moment you cap it vs. carbing a homebrew in a bottle using priming sugar are two much different things.

You only have two eyes and one face. Unless you are 100% positive that this is safe, don't do it.

If I get time, I'll call a growler manufacturer and post my findings.

I've done it...aged beautifully and was an awesome attraction at the party I brought it to.

strangebrewer said:

Whenever I botteled my first batch I bottled a growler just to try it. I used a poly seal cap like this and opened it up 4 weeks later with no problems what so ever.

Click to expand...

+1

Also, make certain there is enough headspace. If you ever look at 3 liter plastic soda bottles, for instance, there is about 3 inches of headspace. Seems like alot, but since you are bottling in a large (1 gallon) vs. small(12 oz.) container, the amount of expansion room needs to go up proportionally. Overcarbing is another, always present risk with bottles(as mentioned by another poster).

I don't know about the strength of the 1 gallon glass vs. a bottle, however, and it's associated risk, but it could be less, as the size is larger without much more thickness? (Somehow the engineering/math brain areas are defective right now! )

Does anyone have any recommendations on how much sugar to use for a growler and how much headspace to leave?

I've bottle in growlers consistently for the past 5 years. I've only lost 2 and I believe it was the result of the glass already being weakened (dropped or chipped). Carbonation has always been fine. 8 or 9 growlers is a lot less work than washing out 60 12oz bottles.