whats the deal with growlers?

i've bought two, one i drank within a couple days the but the other i waited almost a week. The second one was flat and terrible...is that my fault or the bartenders?

As far has for bottling, is it recommended? I had been holding out for the latch tops but these two are simple twist top bottles. Does that mean I need to drink within a couple of days?

Thanks.

yep. need to drink as soon as possible. Mine rarely last more then a night or two. I have found that good carbonation can be had from the first time you open it, but after opening it a second it will be mostly flat, or just have no head but good body carbonation

I think you have all the info you need in your own post:

-the one consumed in a couple days was good
-the one that sat for a week was flat

fault?

As far as bottling (I don't use the shallow bar style twist top growlers but...) if you have to drink carbed beer quick out of them, do you really want to use it for bottling your own beer that has to carb and condition in the bottle over a few weeks minimum?

Growlers are handy if you keg, though. I can fill a growler and go off to a friends or the lake, no problem. Beer will last through that day.

It's like a soda bottle that way. If you buy soda, it's great when you first open it. After two days, it's flat. Reclosing a twist cap just doesn't hold a seal very well.

Drink faster, man!

YooperBrew said:

Growlers are handy if you keg, though. I can fill a growler and go off to a friends or the lake, no problem. Beer will last through that day.

It's like a soda bottle that way. If you buy soda, it's great when you first open it. After two days, it's flat. Reclosing a twist cap just doesn't hold a seal very well.

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With a soda bottle the twist cap does seal well but you have released some of the CO2 and added additional head room when you poured your glass. This allows a considerable amount of CO2 to come out of solution, decreasing the carbonation. If the bottle is quite empty or has been opened several times then the soda will be flat. However if the bottle is nearly full and only opened once it will still be quite carbonated.

As for growlers, I'm less sure of the problem. Beer is less carbonated than soda so maybe the small head space and the loss of carbonation during the fill is causing it to go flat quickly. Or maybe the caps are not as well sealed as they could be. Or maybe the beer is just getting oxidized and tastes bad rather than a complete loss of carbonation. Either way I think most places recommend you drink a growler within a few days.

Craig

It really does depend on the beer and the growler. Some beers last longer than others, and some growlers seal better than others. I've had barleywine live quite comfortably in a growler for four months (unopened), and I've had CO2 hiss from a twist top that was put on a few months prior.


TL

were they the same beer? Maybe the second beer was flat and terrible before it was put in the growler. I have bought growlers at our local beer store and they hold a few weeks if unopened.

I have a real heavy duty growler with a flip top that I'll occasionally bottle in. It holds the carb and is sturdy enough to handle the pressure. I know this because the micro I purchased it from said they do it for their test batches sometimes. The screw on versions I've used always leak the co2 and will not carb.

I like to get a growler at every micro brewery I visit and one that I went to in Albuquerque puts electrical tape around the cap to help it keep the carbonation. Now, I would have no way of telling you if it actually helps or works at all since I've seldom had a growler in the fridge last more than a couple hours but maybe it's something you could try out.

I just popped a flip top growler that was a month old and it was fully carbed. Once it's opened you only have a day or so but until you open it, it should last a good while.

blacklab said:

I have a real heavy duty growler with a flip top that I'll occasionally bottle in. It holds the carb and is sturdy enough to handle the pressure. I know this because the micro I purchased it from said they do it for their test batches sometimes. The screw on versions I've used always leak the co2 and will not carb.

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i was holding out for a flip top but none of the micro-brews seem to have them anymore. i should just buy one as the LHBS, but i never think to bring them (plus most of the time i end up at these places on trips).

sounds like i just need to get started on it faster....