Growlers are also one of the best ways to enjoy the
seemingly endless progression of craft beers. At the Wine Bin in Ellicott City for instance, they feature six growler offerings
at any given time. Once a tap goes dry it is replaced with something new. There
is always something different to try when I go in for a refill. Since they also offer a 32 oz growler you don’t
have to make a big commitment to any one brew. Anyone can drink two pints of beer
they only sort of like, right?
There are some things to take into consideration with
growlers. For one, they don’t keep long. If you bring home beer in growler you
should drink it within a week. The longer it sits, the more it loses that
freshness. How it’s filled could be an issue as well. In his Thirsty in Seattle blog, Dan Swanson writes he’s “had enough flat, oxidized growlers to know that consistency in
properly filling growlers is a big problem, at least at some
establishments. Let’s look at the array of filling technique
advice. Some folks say you should bottom-fill a growler using a
tube. Others say you can just fill from the top. There are even
more pro tips: Use a CO2 purge, make sure the growler is cold,
cap on foam, use plastic polyseal caps (not the cheap white metal ones), and
fill using counter pressure. With all the varying information out there,
it’s no wonder growlers aren't consistently filled flawlessly.”
“If your growler was not filled and capped properly, the
beer will start to oxidize and go flat the minute you walk out the door.”
So far, I haven’t experienced any freshness failures. I guess the
Wine Bin boys are using proper filling techniques but I can just as easily appreciate
how that might not always be the case.
Still I like the upside. As Josh Christie writes in Brews
and Books, "Growlers are also environmental friendly and often less expensive
than prepackaged beer, which works out for everyone.”
I’ll drink to that.
