Can I bottle condition in a growler

Just got a growler or beer while in salt lake city. Can I use it for my next one gal brew instead of my grolsch bottles. It's screw top so that may be a problem. Also. If its one fizzy tab to 12oz then Would I use 5 for 64? Next brew is a 1 gal extract kit of caribou slobber.

Thanks

Yes. I have not tried with a screw top but it works fine with the Grolsch-style tops. In fact I think it tastes better because you get more beer pouring out that is not mixed up with yeast at the bottom of the glass.

i think most people's advice on here would be no because the caps are pretty thin on those types of growlers and you might blow it.

However, i have not personally tried carbing in a growler so I can't officially comment but that would be my worry

They're not really meant to hold pressures needed to carb beer.

Yea the screw top was my worry. I've got enough grolsch bottles. I'll go that way until its conditioned then move it to the growler. That sound ok?

It's not rated for pressure. There was a thread just a few days ago about a guy doing that who's growler cracked and he lost half his batch.

Is it a swingtop? While I believe they also are not rated for pressure, I'd wager a swingtop will hold pressure better then a screw top.

The swing tops are very strong. I bottle conditioned in a Grolsch bottle and over-carbed. It might have been in the bottle six weeks. One night I heard breaking glass and I checked the cabinet... The bottle exploded. I.e. the glass broke before the top failed.

Well, i just heard about not using growlers today in this thread, but i haven't had any problems yet. I have 4 growlers with festabrew wheat and 2 with brewhouse blonde ale and i haven't had any explode. I have the black plastic caps with the clear plastic cone shape on the inside.
When i opened the ones i have drank it was a little hard to get the cap off, and i did notice that there wasn't as much of a fizz sound as bottles of the same batch. I also noticed that the beer was a little less carbed than the bottles.
Is it possible that this type of cap actually let excess pressure out? Personally i can't see the glass breaking before the plastic cap gave out, but a metal cap would be a different story.

I've attempted bottle conditioning my brew in growlers. Haven't blow any up, but I'm having a hard time getting carbonation in any of them. I've done this with about 4 batches. After the first batch I made sure very carefully that the screw top was tight. Then on other batches I attempted to Saran Wrap of cap, and another I tried to data wrap a gasket to the cap. No luck for me, so I'm giving up on them.

I wouldn't, and here's why:



I had a gallon glass wine jug explode from the pressure of fermentation, cutting my calf muscle just above my Achilles.

I know others do condition in growlers, but to me its not worth it.

^^^^ Thats BRUTAL, hope you got stitches.

wickman6 said:

I wouldn't, and here's why:



I had a gallon glass wine jug explode from the pressure of fermentation, cutting my calf muscle just above my Achilles.

I know others do condition in growlers, but to me its not worth it.

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Case in point. For those thinking swing top growlers are just like grolsch bottles, I wouldn't be so sure. The tops are not what gets rated, the ability of the glass to hold the pressure is what's in question.

I'd still say swing top growlers are a better bet then screw tops (they're generally better for everything!) but be careful. Store em in a tupperware or something if you insist on doing it. I personally don't want that kind of wound, and I bet Wickman will tell you how fortunate he is that it didn't sever his achilles completely.

Hopper5000 said:

^^^^ Thats BRUTAL, hope you got stitches.

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I did. That was on June 1st this year, and I'm still in a walking boot to stabilize the muscle. Next week I start rehabbing the muscle to build strength back up.

I'm most fortunate, as my 2 year old usually brews with me, but he was napping when this happened thank God!

wow man, heal up fast.

I have read the "palla" (means ball) Italian style growlers with swing top are safe to bottle in. I THINK I read that on the northern brewer web site, they sell them.

I have read the "palla" (means ball) Italian style growlers with swing top are safe to bottle in. I THINK I read that on the northern brewer web site, they sell them.

I don't know about this exactly, but I would be concerned about how much beer you could potentially lose conditioning in a growler if you aren't used to it. To me, it seems that if you haven't carbed a beer in this quantity yet, it may take longer to carb up than you're used to. So, if you open a growler too soon and it hasn't yet carbed you may have just lost 64oz of potentially good beer. Like I said I don't know, someone may know better than me.

mdgagne said:

They're not really meant to hold pressures needed to carb beer.

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my 2cents:

I've seen people on this forum consistently saying that they aren't meant to hold pressure. Fair enough. But I have been bottle conditioning in growlers for several years now and have never had 1 explosion. I screw the cap on TIGHT then seal it up with electrical tape or hot wax

I figure my growlers are way more thick glass than some of the commercial 12oz bottles that people have no problem using

Unfortunate to hear about the people who lost their batches but I suspect they may have had bottle bombs one way or the other regardless of container


edit: also, when I used to bottle straight from the fermentor, I would use 5 priming tabs. That would usually be either just right or too much. Try 4 and a half if possible. Somehow those tabs don't scale up as simply as you'd think, in my experience. Now I just bottle out of the keg so it's easy to get the carb level done right

wickman6 said:

I wouldn't, and here's why:

View attachment 134195

I had a gallon glass wine jug explode from the pressure of fermentation, cutting my calf muscle just above my Achilles.

I know others do condition in growlers, but to me its not worth it.

Click to expand...

WHOA! Sorry to hear about your injury. Glad that hasn't happened to me but the two main differences are 1) I don't ferment in growlers, just carb/condition and 2) I have never used a gallon winejug, only 64oz beergrowlers

Wow it is so lucky that your child was napping! For such a scary and bad situation, it was still far from worst-case-scenario; I will remember that picture if the thought of using wine jugs ever passes through my head

I'm a NOOB, but did a lot of research prior to my 1st batch b/c I had a growler my dad had given me from Gordon Bierch. It's VERY heavy and has the swing style stopper. I have seen these styles online too. I can't imagine the glass on those is any thinner than a typical 12oz beer bottle. The glass is definitely thicker than that of my screw top growlers from local brewery (which I did not use). I used it, but did keep it in guest b-room tub just in case. Looks to have conditioned fine. 4 weeks later and there are some visible bubbles at top like the 12ox bottles so it is definitely carbonated.

ballsy said:

I'm a NOOB, but did a lot of research prior to my 1st batch b/c I had a growler my dad had given me from Gordon Bierch. It's VERY heavy and has the swing style stopper. I have seen these styles online too. I can't imagine the glass on those is any thinner than a typical 12oz beer bottle. The glass is definitely thicker than that of my screw top growlers from local brewery (which I did not use). I used it, but did keep it in guest b-room tub just in case. Looks to have conditioned fine. 4 weeks later and there are some visible bubbles at top like the 12ox bottles so it is definitely carbonated.

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Oh but it can be much thinner. I cut open a dead guy growler for a three wick candle one time. These containers, bottles too, are not one thickness all the way around. Though the growler i cut open has some very thin sections to it. It was much thinner than any bottle i have cut open.

I bet there are a lot of people that get away with carbing in growlers but that gash in the previous post make s me think its not worth it. For me at least. Good luck in your brewing though!

I've bottle conditioned in a growler a few times, worked fine. They weren't highly carbed and I didn't let them sit around very long, just in case there was an infection that would create more pressure inside. Guess it depends on the quality of the growler...I have no idea if there is a standard.

I would say do so at your own risk.

If you are going to get an explosion, it would probably happen within the first week or two, when the yeast is actually active and producing CO2. There's a thread around here somewhere (I'll find it if someone really wants it) that shows pressure inside a vessel spikes in the first part of conditioning, before the CO2 is absorbed back into the liquid. Basically, CO2 gets produced faster than the liquid can accommodate it. It's during this time you are most in danger.

That said, I just got 2 SS growlers for my wedding, and they are friggen AMAZING. And yes, I do condition in those with zero worries.

jotakah said:

WHOA! Sorry to hear about your injury. Glad that hasn't happened to me but the two main differences are 1) I don't ferment in growlers, just carb/condition and 2) I have never used a gallon winejug, only 64oz beergrowlers

Wow it is so lucky that your child was napping! For such a scary and bad situation, it was still far from worst-case-scenario; I will remember that picture if the thought of using wine jugs ever passes through my head

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Gallon wine jugs are the same thing is growlers by the way.. Some are clear, and some are brown..

It's not really always in the thickness of the glass, it's also the design. The bottom of the bottles is the thinnest point and will blow out first due to the shape.

dand said:

Well, i just heard about not using growlers today in this thread, but i haven't had any problems yet. I have 4 growlers with festabrew wheat and 2 with brewhouse blonde ale and i haven't had any explode. I have the black plastic caps with the clear plastic cone shape on the inside.
When i opened the ones i have drank it was a little hard to get the cap off, and i did notice that there wasn't as much of a fizz sound as bottles of the same batch. I also noticed that the beer was a little less carbed than the bottles.
Is it possible that this type of cap actually let excess pressure out? Personally i can't see the glass breaking before the plastic cap gave out, but a metal cap would be a different story.

Click to expand...

Same story. If I have too much beer to fit in a keg, I fill a growler. Also use the black caps. Done it quite a few times with no problem. I do store them in a box just in case.

I just recently had a growler explode in my kitchen. The wall behind the growler was embedded with glass, the wall across the kitchen had some glass in it and a wall 12 feet away even had some glass in it. The bottom of the growler ended up in my living room about twenty feet away. Thankfully nobody was in the kitchen. Even better was that I was out of state. My wife ended to having to clean EVERYTHING in the kitchen due to beer and glass.

I would not suggest carbinating in them whatsoever.

I have bottle-conditioned in a growler a few times with no problems. But, I use the plastic caps with the clear plastic cone lining (they seem to have a better seal), and I've only used the growler to condition beers that call for low CO2 volumes (~2-2.4) like an ESB, or an Irish Red. I would not risk conditioning a hefe in a growler. The caps seem to swell a bit at 2.2 volumes of CO2. Don't think it would hold 3.2 or more.

Frankiesurf said:

I just recently had a growler explode in my kitchen. The wall behind the growler was embedded with glass, the wall across the kitchen had some glass in it and a wall 12 feet away even had some glass in it. The bottom of the growler ended up in my living room about twenty feet away. Thankfully nobody was in the kitchen. Even better was that I was out of state. My wife ended to having to clean EVERYTHING in the kitchen due to beer and glass.

I would not suggest carbinating in them whatsoever.

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If you would've heard that thing go off, you would be impressed. Not quite as loud as a 12gague shotgun, but not a far cry from it.

I found the handle of mine about 8 feet away, inside a cardboard box filled with clothes. The cap was still tightly screwed on.

I think people are confusing a RATED glass bottle against thickness of the glass itself.

Long necks are designed to hold the outward pressure of carbonation, where on the other hand growlers are made to hold the outside pressure from entering the growler, just as much as a mason jar is designed to hold inwards vacuum.

The thickness of the glaass does not designate wether its able to hold pressure or vaccum.

The picture on the first page really made me squeem, specially because its a slice of glass thru someones leg because of a growler fail...
There should be a sticky on this!!!
People have to stop getting hurt from stupid things like co2 tanks going off in a 100* car or lifting a glass carboy down stairs....or bottle conditioning in a growler

BOTTLES ARE 5c!!! Go to your local distributor and buy a couple cases!

Johnnyhitch1 said:

I think people are confusing a RATED glass bottle against thickness of the glass itself.

Long necks are designed to hold the outward pressure of carbonation, where on the other hand growlers are made to hold the outside pressure from entering the growler, just as much as a mason jar is designed to hold inwards vacuum.

The thickness of the glaass does not designate wether its able to hold pressure or vaccum.

The picture on the first page really made me squeem, specially because its a slice of glass thru someones leg because of a growler fail...
There should be a sticky on this!!!
People have to stop getting hurt from stupid things like co2 tanks going off in a 100* car or lifting a glass carboy down stairs....or bottle conditioning in a growler

BOTTLES ARE 5c!!! Go to your local distributor and buy a couple cases!

Click to expand...

I had a 20oz co2 bottle blow it's burst disc once, scary stuff. Flying around my small apartment like crazy, always put my full co2 tanks in the fridge after that

bad idea! not just dangerous, but its better to pour once fronm a bottle small enough that all contents go into a glass. then you dont get the yeast mixed in with the next pour, just my opinion!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects...m-the-last-pour-is-as-good-as-th/posts/460699

This is a pretty interesting idea. I think it's more trouble than it's worth though. Sometimes they blow up sometimes they dont...I would just grab a couple bottles out of the recycling or support your LHBS and buy a 12 pack.

How about an option instead of growlers? You can use plastic 2L soda bottles instead. They're meant to hold pressure/carbonation, they do it well, and if they ever do explode you won't have glass flying.
I would never use a growler, both for safety and the fact they don't hold carbonation well anyway. Plus, even if it holds the pressure and doesn't explode, after the first pour the yeast is mixed in with the beer and if you try to re cap it you won't have much carbonation in subsequent pours. If you're going to drink all 4 pints in one sitting, I guess that's a non issue.

What about a plastic growler?

my .02 I use growlers on several batches. I've used the caps that come from the brewery, they're nice because they have a like a rubber gasket that's attached to the cap. I've bought replacement caps, the ones that have paper inside do not hold pressure. my latest cap purchase is a black plastic cap with a polycarbonate seal inside, those work great. never had an issue with blow up, but that might be from bottling too early or too much priming sugar etc.

Yea I hadn't thought of loosing all of the carbonation. I've got the grolsch style bottles. I'll go that way with it. Thanks guys

wickman6 said:

I wouldn't, and here's why:

View attachment 134195

I had a gallon glass wine jug explode from the pressure of fermentation, cutting my calf muscle just above my Achilles.

I know others do condition in growlers, but to me its not worth it.

Click to expand...

Brewery war wounds, sweat!!!

OMG NO! A thousand times NO! Those things can go BOOM!!!! and not like a beer bottle BOOM either. Were talking massive BOOM!

I have seen first hand a 1/2 gallon growler explode and there was glass imbedded in a wall 15ft away!

Cheers
Jay

Growlers are great for fermenting in aka with a air lock on the top of them but the glass is not held to any standard in a growler or a 1/2 - 1 gallon wine jug. They are made specifically for holding liquid not pressure. Those of you carbonating in them you got lucky and got some that are thick enough all over. If you haven't carbonated in the one your looking at before I would seriously recommend against it. Ive had a few crack from just pasteurizing in them at slow raises in temp on a false bottom (not pressurized pasteurization either). You never know what the consistency is of these types of containers as they aren't regulated in any way that would tell you they are safe for this type of use. Bottles really aren't that expensive. If your in a state that doesn't have deposits use the site freecycle.org and get a bunch for free. if you are get on Craig's list and offer to pay deposits for peoples bottles you'll get someone to sell you them or go to your local HBS and buy some for what 12 cents a piece...

Yea ive got enough for this batch. I just had it and thought it would make life easy. Going to order pop offs for my first 5 gal biab coming up.