Growler, what's the point?

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ingchr1

ingchr1

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Besides beer that's not available in a bottle/can, why would you ever buy a growler of beer?

I typically find that growlers cost more than a 6-pack of the same beer, the 6-pack has more beer.

A growler is going to go flat in short order once cracked open, comparatively the 6-pack will keep for eons.

It just doesn't make sense to me why they charge what they do for a growler fill, and it's more than one place that I've noticed this.
 
Are you asking about growlers being offered in liquor stores? Or straight from a brewery (walk-in)?

Yeah - I've seen them in liquor stores, but if they are offered in cans/bottles as well, I would go that route.
 
Any BYO place. It's a lot classier to have a growler on the table than a six pack.
 
I've got a couple growlers, one is from a brewery that doesn't bottle and the other was beer they don't offer in bottles. I like them to take to parties to share as well. Also, since the go flat over a couple of days, you have a good excuse to drink 1/2 gallon of delicious beer. I guess if you really don't like them, don't buy them?
 
I enjoy Good People's Snake Handler but not at $12 for a 4-pack. I can get 1/2 gallon from the Piggly Wiggly for $9 tax included.

snakehandler.png
 
I dig the growlers. It's an easy way to bring home a few beers from the local brewpub. It's fresh straight from the tap. At 64 oz that's 4 pints, perfect amount for a Friday or Saturday night. I don't have to worry about em going flat here😉
 
BillySpivitz said:
Are you asking about growlers being offered in liquor stores? Or straight from a brewery (walk-in)?
Click to expand...

Here in NY you can get growlers at breweries, beer stores, supermarkets and gas stations.

I'm specifically talking about a beer that is available at the same place in both growler and 6-pack. I have found that the 6-pack is always cheaper.
 
Zekk said:
I guess if you really don't like them, don't buy them?
Click to expand...
Didn't say I don't like them, I have a collection of about 15 of them and always carry two empties in the car.

What I don't understand is when the store has the growler fill for $12 to $15 and the 6-pack of the same beer for $9.99.
 
Only time I get one is from the locally brewpub. But that's because they only sell their stuff on tap right there so the only way to get some to take home is to have them fill up a growler.


Also some times when I go to the beer store there are local beers which they only have available in growlers and nothing else. Plus lots of people only do four packs that usually cost more than ten bucks anyway so if I was planning on drinking it all within 24 hours anyway I'd just get the growler.
 
ingchr1 said:
Didn't say I don't like them, I have a collection of about 15 of them and always carry two empties in the car.

What I don't understand is when the store has the growler fill for $12 to $15 and the 6-pack of the same beer for $9.99.
Click to expand...

Then I guess the only reason to me would be if the brewery is somewhat local, then you could buy the growler and go get it refilled. Or if the growler just looked cool.
 
There is a cool factor for sure, but primarily because here in Colorado there are hundreds - if not thousands - of unique, limited release, exceptional craft beers produced locally that simply are not put in bottles or cans.

growler.jpg
 
Another huge consideration for cans/bottles vs. growlers of the same beer... when was it canned/bottled? How has it been handled since? Temperature changes, sunlight? With a growler, you see it filled straight from the tap, as fresh as the pint that was pulled while waiting it to fill.
 
ingchr1 said:
Here in NY you can get growlers at breweries, beer stores, supermarkets and gas stations.

I'm specifically talking about a beer that is available at the same place in both growler and 6-pack. I have found that the 6-pack is always cheaper.
Click to expand...

No, I agree. If it's available in a bottle, I go that route.

But. . . If it is an interesting growler (label or shape), I might be tempted to pay a bit more for it. :cross:
 
Any beer to me, tastes better on tap. There is a definite difference between bottle/can and poured from a tap. A growler allows me to get that 'tap' flavor at home. Of course, 9 times out of 10, if I'm buying a growler....it will be in a glass as soon as I get home.
 
Hammy71 said:
Any beer to me, tastes better on tap. There is a definite difference between bottle/can and poured from a tap. A growler allows me to get that 'tap' flavor at home. Of course, 9 times out of 10, if I'm buying a growler....it will be in a glass as soon as I get home.
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Which is why I do not understand the various CO2 "Tap Cap" schemes for growlers, the one I pictured above has an optional cap to charge with CO2 and a picnic type tap. Four pints, the growler is gone, not a chance to oxidize or go flat, at least for me and those around me that share...
 
BillySpivitz said:
No, I agree. If it's available in a bottle, I go that route.

But. . . If it is an interesting growler (label or shape), I might be tempted to pay a bit more for it. :cross:
Click to expand...
I'm talking about the beer itself when you're getting a refill, growler aside.
 
Availability more than anything. I cringe at paying 18 bucks for a side of sculpin and refuse to do it but I'm drinking an 18 dollar growler from a local brewery that only sells in kegs, go figure.
 
I think it is a waste to have a growler filled unless you are unable to source the beer in a can or bottle. With that being said, sometimes when I go to a brewery I will have a pint and have a growler filled to finish up at home. I may pay a little extra, but it is direct into their hands. I probably wouldn't get a growler filled at the store unless it was cheaper and I planned to consume immediately.
 
growlers are bragging rights. not only to coworkers, family, and friends, but also to any other place you get your growlers filled. I still bring my Crow Peak growlers to places to get filled. maybe I'm an ass, but I don't give a flocc. it's bragging rights.
 
I look at it like this... If I open a growler I finish it in one sitting.
They also have a lot of uses for me after they are empty too: blow off tube tank, giving Homebrew to friends/neighbors, yeast starters...
 
They're perfect for when swmbo says I can only have one beer.
I love growlers. You're getting some of the freshest beer you can, and I can get it filled indefinitely so its more eco-friendly than buying six new glass bottles every time. But I live in an area of the country that only allows breweries to fill growlers so I don't normally get the choice of growler or sixer.
 
ingchr1 said:
Besides beer that's not available in a bottle/can, why would you ever buy a growler of beer?

I typically find that growlers cost more than a 6-pack of the same beer, the 6-pack has more beer.

A growler is going to go flat in short order once cracked open, comparatively the 6-pack will keep for eons.

It just doesn't make sense to me why they charge what they do for a growler fill, and it's more than one place that I've noticed this.
Click to expand...

Because you really like the HBT Growler?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/store/

I've sold...none to date but with threads like this I'm really hoping the sales take off.
 
Psylocide said:
Well, it's empty... :D
Click to expand...
It's empty, and I have enough growlers already. Hell, I've had people give me empty growlers that they were too lazy to rinse out. There seems to be a glut of them around here as people upgrade to drink tanks and hydro flasks.
 
I always felt that beer straight from the tap was fresher than I could get out of a six pack. Plus with the AHA discount, most of the time it's cheaper to get a growler filled than purchase a six pack.

Edit: If you already own the growler that is.
 
Psylocide said:
Well, it's empty... :D
Click to expand...

They're all filled with my hopes and dreams. Hopes that someone would buy it, dreams that Tx will stop whipping me once someone buys one.

Mongrel said:
It's empty, and I have enough growlers already. Hell, I've had people give me empty growlers that they were too lazy to rinse out. There seems to be a glut of them around here as people upgrade to drink tanks and hydro flasks.
Click to expand...

Really? Our Growlers comes with less lazy friends.
 
b-boy said:
Any chance of getting some hbt hats? I'd love a ball cap with the logo. I could wear it to beer festivals. I'd pay $20 for a hat.
Click to expand...

Funny... just saw this hat in the HBT store for $30, a little more than you wanted to pay, but pretty cool nonetheless.




HBT-Growler-2.jpg
 

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