Here's to Beer! Grab a Growler

Just imagine, if you will, being the 1800’s version of a beer geek. You stroll over to your local brewery and get a galvanized pail full of locally brewed beer. The inside of the pail is coated with a layer of lard to insulate the pail and allow for a slightly higher fill. And as you make your way home, pail swinging, the carbon dioxide bubbles released by the beer make a gentle gurgling sound as you walk. Almost like growling…

Such is the theory on how growlers got their name. Should our 1800’s beer geek had been able to visit our time, he would be relieved that growlers of local brew continue to be served. And now, thanks to recent legislation (Senate bill 5711 to be specific) growlers are now being poured at many more places than before. As of July 20th, the new law says that retailers can now fill growlers to go. This opens the door for your neighborhood bottle shop to start bringing in kegs and filling up your growler for you. It’s an exciting prospect, especially when one considers the fantastic beers that never make it into bottles. Those “keg only” beers can now be dispensed at your favorite bottle shop and brought home in a growler for enjoyment on your couch or lawn chair.

The advantages of growlers don’t stop there. They are ecologically sound in that they encourage reuse of containers. Economically speaking, they represent a great value for the consumer, usually shaving several dollars off the bill versus buying the same beer by the pint at a pub.

The only possible disadvantage to growlers is a relatively short lifespan in the container once it’s dispensed. This is primarily due to oxidation, which is deterioration of the beer due to exposure to oxygen. A way to get around this is to displace the oxygen in the container with a neutral gas such as carbon dioxide. Then again, you can take the easier route and simply displace the oxygen with beer, and fill the container till foam comes from the top. While this does waste a little beer, it’s the simplest way to insure a minimal amount of oxygen in the container.

Your growler of beer should hold up for a week if refrigerated and unopened. Once its opened, you will want to drink it within a day or so.

So, if you have a growler or two in your empties, it’s time to dust them off and go get them filled! Unlike other states, here in Washington you can fill any breweries growlers with any kind of beer; it doesn’t have to be the same beer. However, you will need a proper growler to get a fill up. Juice jugs, mason jars, gas cans and other vessels will likely not be filled by a retailer. Neither will a dirty growler; be sure that yours is spotlessly clean before you bring it in for filling.

So check around with your favorite bottle shop. If they haven’t started growler fills yet, they may amongst those who are starting up soon. Cheers!

Rich Coffey is a chef and Certified Cicerone. His website is here.