Cursing the Growler

[kappclark]

I offered to bring 2 growlers of Cream Ale to an outing on a friend's steamboat ..going to be lots of fun, so I left brew with himj that AM

He couldn't do the trip that day, so he left the brew at work...

Next day, of course, the beer was flat (but tasted great he said)..growlers didn't keep carbonation, and I didn't expect them to .. they were refrigerated..

SOOO - I think I will purchase one of those 2 gal gegs and a co2 cartridge ...at least I can be sure it doesn't go flat.

but - once beer is flat, is it worth trying to re-carb ? I was pretty annoyed to see the beer wasted..(HE tossed the brew)

 

[Zen_Brew]

I think mileage may varry with growlers. I took 2 of them witha Belgian Wit to a 4th of July party and only one got drank. I popped the other one in my fridge when I got home and two or three weeks later when I broke it out at a brew gathering the carbonation was still perfect. Depends on how good that seal in the lid is I guess.

I was wondering on the recarbonation question as well. I don't see why you couldn't as long as it will be drank fairly quickly as the fact it lost it's carbonation probably means it has had some oxygen exposure. If the keg is low why not give it a try. That way there wouldn't be much other beer in the keg to suffer if it doesn't work out.

 

[Martin2D]

Why not get "German growlers." I can't imagine them going flat as they seal like Grolsch bottles.

 

[kappclark]

Thx for reply -


I did buy some of those "better" growler caps, but I stupidly forgot to use them (since we were going on the booze cruise in only 8 hours ...)..they do work..

I was also wondering if headspace would have any effect on the rate of depletion ...if the growler were filled very close to the top vs 20% below the top...

Mine were 20% below the top.

 

[Zen_Brew]

Yeah, head space will have some effect. I wouldn't think at 20% headspace you'd go flat, but you'd definitely loose some co2 out of solution to the headspace. Kind of like when you drink part of a bottle of soda and recap, and the next time you open it you get that long hiss of co2. That is all co2 that has bled out into the headspace.

 

[Yooper]

I'm cheap, so I have a cheap fix. I use 2L soda bottles, washed and sanitized. I use a modified "BMBF" by putting a Grolsch gasket over the racking cane that covers the opening of the 2L bottle. So, the racking cane goes into the soda bottle, and the other end goes either into a picnic tap or into the Perlick tap (sprayed with some Star-san). I fill at a very low pressure- like 3 psi, and keep the gasket over the top and just "burp" it as it fills.

It holds carbonation pretty well. But I also bought one of those "carbonator caps". So, if after a day or two it starts to go flat, I put on the carbonator cap and give it a big shot of CO2. That's now how we make rootbeer all of the time. A soda bottle can take 40 psi.

 

[david_42]

Yes, you can re-carbonate flat beer. How it will taste depends on how it was stored.

 

[bmckee56]

I'm cheap, so I have a cheap fix. I use 2L soda bottles, washed and sanitized. I use a modified "BMBF" by putting a Grolsch gasket over the racking cane that covers the opening of the 2L bottle. So, the racking cane goes into the soda bottle, and the other end goes either into a picnic tap or into the Perlick tap (sprayed with some Star-san). I fill at a very low pressure- like 3 psi, and keep the gasket over the top and just "burp" it as it fills.

It holds carbonation pretty well. But I also bought one of those "carbonator caps". So, if after a day or two it starts to go flat, I put on the carbonator cap and give it a big shot of CO2. That's now how we make rootbeer all of the time. A soda bottle can take 40 psi.

I just made up 12 Grolsch (16oz) bottles using the picnic tap and racking cane method described above (easy method for bottling I might add). I also filled a 2L bottle with my American Cream Ale. I have a carbonator cap, but recently made up 2 PET caps with Valve Stems and used one of these to cap my 2L bottle. For $4.00 it makes a nice carbonator cap and is easily filled. I have given some thought to drilling out the top of a Growler and installing a valve stem. Then I could shoot the Growler with CO2, to ensure it was at the desired serving pressure, all the time.

Salute!