There can be no mistaking that growlers have become a big thing in Alberta. What was at one time a quirky offering to loyal fans of local craft breweries has become a big time trend. Growler filling stations are popping up in liquor stores across the province, meaning the options have expanded greatly. Any beer sold in kegs is now a candidate for growlers.
And whenever there is a trend, I usually try to make it a subject of my columns. I did a CBC column a few weeks back on the growler trend, and now you can find pieces in Vue Weekly (read here) and on my Sherbrooke Liquor website Beer 101 column (read here). (While it is true that Sherbrooke will soon be installing its own growler filling station, my my decision to write about growleres in Beer 101 is unrelated – in fact I was unaware of the plans when I wrote the piece.)
The two columns, while broadly similar, actually take different approaches to the topic. The Vue piece is more an introduction to the practice, finishing off with some tips on how to keep the beer in its best condition. The Beer 101 article, on the other hand, explores the upsides and downsides of growlers. More specifically, it looks at the concerns about growlers as much as singing its praises.
Personally I am of two-minds about growlers. I completely appreciate their value in giving consumers access to fresh draught beer at home. I have been known to purchase one now and then myself – usually if I am having friends over or if I am going out of town to somewhere where good craft beer is in shorter supply (i.e., Fort McMurray).
However, I think there is not enough awareness about the limits to growlers. The biggest is that they are NOT long term storage vessels. I note with some concern the appearance of filled growlers on liquor store shelves from (unnamed) breweries around the country. How old is that growler on that shelf? If it is more than a few days, I am very skeptical. I have seen people get two, three and even four growlers filled at the same time. Either they are having a party (which is fine), have a drinking problem (which is not fine), or they think that “stocking up” on growler beer is a good idea. Which it most certainly is not. If you are not planning on opening the growler within a few days, and then not planning on consuming the beer within a day or so once opened, you should not be choosing a growler in my opinion.
My other worry is cleanliness. I know keeping growlers clean is not that difficult – just requiring a regular routine of punctual attention. Still, most retailers and breweries have a buyer-beware policy around growlers. They will not sanitize for you, meaning a less than pristine sanitation procedure could lead to problems down the road.
I don’t want to be a Negative Nelly here; I trust most consumers are responsible enough to understand the short term nature of growlers and keep them clean. However, in all the talk of how cool growlers are, I think we need a little more attention to their limits and cautions. A growler is not a replacement for a six pack. It is merely to offer some of the experience of the pub in your own living room – which means consuming it fresh, with friends.
April 28, 2014 at 12:43 PM
On the freshness aspect, I’ve found that some beers ‘survive'(& arguably almost benefit) from sitting a few days. The particular instance being a Howler-fill of Fish Brewing’s Mudshark Porter that I got at Keg & Cork last Nov.. As I remember, I had it filled on a Wed. evening-planning to share it with a friend. In actuality though, we didn’t get to it until that Sat. evening(by which time I had my doubts as to its freshness). Fortunately it pleasantly surprized me by seeming-debateaby-to have improved with age. Ok, that’s very probably an exaggeration. But oxidation wasn’t overly noticeable(to us, at least) although I’m sure there must’ve been some. And the loss of carbonation gave the beer much more substantial mouthfeel, as in a good solid stout. That said though, I don’t intend to repeat the process, I’m calling it an unexpected result…one of those ‘could’ve been worse’ instances. A couple beers, notably a cask-conditioned version of Alley Kat’s Charlie Flints Lager(done for EBGA-the Beer Geeks & available at Keg & Cork in…Feb. or early March?), were pretty much ruined just sitting overnight!
April 29, 2014 at 10:09 AM
Back in (say) 1991, there was a brief moment in Calgary where you buy draught beer in a plastic 1 gallon milk jug at a couple of liquor stores (one on the corner of Bow Trail and 33rd St SW) . Nice to see this option return (with the caveats about contamination, shelf-life and whatnot acknowledged).
April 30, 2014 at 8:51 PM
One of the issues I have with most places I have had growlers filled, is that they allow the growlers to come in contact with the taps when they fill them, by resting the growler against the tap while they fill it. If the growler is not clean, the tap is now contaminated. When i bar-tended touching the tap with a mug or pitcher was the biggest mistake you could make, and I believe is a violation of health codes. I was pleasantly surprised when I filled a growler at the Century Park Liquor Depot (sadly not close to home), that they not only cleaned and sanitized my growler, but also filled it using a growler fill tube, which was sanitized before and after the fill. The fill tube also fills the growler from the bottom, minimizing the agitation and oxidation during the fill. This is the right way to fill a growler. I’m not sure why this Liquor Depot location can do it right, while Wine And Beyond does it so wrong.
I hope that as more locations install growler bars, they make the investment to provide a safe and sanitary service.