how long do growlers last?

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by raczkowski, Nov 16, 2012.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    As others have mentioned the best way to fill a growler is via a counter-pressure filler. Both Victory and Sly Fox have filler machines built by a European vendor that both evacuates the growler with CO2 and then counter-pressure fills the growler.

    You can read about Garret Oliver’s (head brewer of Brooklyn Brewery) opinion on growlers here: http://www.bonappetit.com/blogsandforums/blogs/bafoodist/2011/11/garrett-oliver-thinks-growlers.html

    Cheers!

    P.S. Garrett has posted about his opinion on growlers on this BA thread: http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/yet-another-growler-question.11210/#post-131806
     
    AZBeerDude72 likes this.
  2. ColonelCash

    ColonelCash Initiate (0) Jul 6, 2011 Tennessee

    The question isn't how long it will last unopened, rather how long it is good after you pour a glass. I get pissed when I open a growler and its flat in less than 24 hours. That is an injustice and happens every time I get a growler locally.
     
  3. marquis

    marquis Pooh-Bah (2,301) Nov 20, 2005 England
    Pooh-Bah Society

    We don't have growlers here but we have things called things called carrykegs. They are flimsy 4 pint containers designed for carrying cask ale home but they are not pressure containers. A friend had one filled from the handpump and took it home, put it into his cupboard under the stairs and forgot about it! How you can do this is beyond me, but that's what happened.A month and a half later he found it and we tried the beer; it was completely flat but otherwise sound.
     
  4. rjniles

    rjniles Initiate (0) Aug 30, 2012 South Carolina

    A lot has to do with who well your growler is cleaned. I always wash mine with a detergent and a tablespoon of bleach using a bottle brush and rinse religiously. Even so I drink with in a day or 2. I don't think I have had one in the frig for more than a week.
     
  5. OneBeertoRTA

    OneBeertoRTA Initiate (0) Jan 2, 2010 California

    I've never let any sit over 2 weeks and no I haven't noticed any fall off in that amount of time. If it was a growler of ZD it may have :slight_smile:
     
    AC-Mivsek likes this.
  6. zac16125

    zac16125 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,358) Jan 26, 2010 South Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I have traded for a number of growlers, and inherent in the trading process is that the growlers would be greater than a week old when I drank them. Ive never had a carbonation issue with any of them.

    On a related note, how do you know if its filled with counter pressure? I am curious.
     
  7. flayedandskinned

    flayedandskinned Initiate (0) Jan 1, 2011 California

     
  8. flayedandskinned

    flayedandskinned Initiate (0) Jan 1, 2011 California

     
  9. Ford

    Ford Initiate (0) Sep 8, 2012 Texas

  10. WassailWilly

    WassailWilly Initiate (0) Sep 8, 2007 New York

    Drank a pressure filled Victory Storm King growler that was at least 6 months old from the brewery and it still was perfect !
     
  11. hokiechef

    hokiechef Initiate (0) Feb 23, 2009 South Carolina

    I try not to store them more than 2 weeks for anything hoppy. Stouts etc I have held awhile. The oldest was a Southern Tier Creme Brulee that was over a year (held in optimal conditions) and was just fine.
     
  12. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Here is a video of the growler filling machine at the Victory Brewpub. The machine was built by Alfred Gruber of Austria. The Victory machine was designed for swing-top growlers.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD-KuGuEzHw

    Sly Fox Brewpub has a filling machine also built by Alfred Gruber which fills up regular (screw-top) growlers).

    The machine first performs an evacuation of the air within the growler by filling it up with CO2; the CO2 displaces the air (oxygen). The beer is then filled via counter-pressure. -The purpose of the counter-pressure filling is to minimize the CO2 coming out of solution during the pour.

    What most brewpubs/bars do it just fill a growler from a regular tap. This process has air (oxygen) exposure since the growler is full of air (oxygen). This process also has the issue of some of the CO2 coming out of solution during the pour (you witness this via the foaming of the beer during the pour).

    A growler filled by a machine like they have at Victory and Sly Fox will last a long time (like the 6 months that Wassailwilly alludes to in his post wrt Storm King).

    Cheers!

    P.S. This is not the only way a growler can get filled via counter-pressure filling. Just an example of how it could be done.
     
  13. zac16125

    zac16125 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,358) Jan 26, 2010 South Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader


    Thanks for the video post. So can one counter pressure fill a growler by first pumping the empy growler full of CO2? Is the CO2 alone what is providing the "counter pressure"
     
  14. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    The Counter-pressure filling process is a multi-step process:

    “The process consists of the following steps:

    The counter pressure filler is put into the bottle, and CO2 gas is pumped into the bottle to fill it with CO2 and remove harmful oxygen. The valve at the top is vented to allow oxygen to escape. This also pressurizes the bottle to the filling pressure. The CO2 input is then closed.

    The filling valve is opened, allowing beer to flow into the bottle. Pressure is slowly released by the vent allowing CO2 to escape and beer to flow in and replace it. Because the bottle remains pressurized during the fill, foaming is kept to a minimum. When the bottle is filled, the beer valve is closed.

    Remaining pressure is released from the vent and a cap is put on the bottle. Because the bottle is filled at this point, only a small amount of foaming occurs as the cap is put on and sealed.”

    Above is from: http://www.brewwiki.com/index.php/Counter_Pressure_Filler

    Cheers!
     
    SipIt and zac16125 like this.
  15. littlebeer

    littlebeer Initiate (0) Jun 1, 2012 California

    I went to Societe Brewing and was told that a growler of their IPA would last 3 days. That being said, it was not a problem though because i ended up sharing it all with friends the next day anyways.
     
  16. Zimbo

    Zimbo Pooh-Bah (2,281) Aug 7, 2010 Scotland
    Pooh-Bah

    Yes we do have growlers here. I used mine to bring home some draft Firestone Double Jack just a few weeks ago.
     
  17. VncentLIFE

    VncentLIFE Initiate (0) Feb 16, 2011 North Carolina

    most of the state of NC does that counter pressure thing.
     
  18. zac16125

    zac16125 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,358) Jan 26, 2010 South Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Thank you sir!
     
  19. nep8403

    nep8403 Initiate (0) May 8, 2013






    I was just at the Troegs Brewery in Hershey, they use the same filler as Victory.
     
  20. Immortale25

    Immortale25 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,549) May 13, 2011 North Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Cigar City had a machine similar to this but it seemed much slower and therefore not as efficient. It also didn't have as much machinery surrounding it so I don't think it was the Gruber one. Those Gruber ones probably cost an arm and a leg.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.