The Pub vs. The Growler

Update - Just found out that this month's The Session (#60) will focus on growlers as a topic, so I'm submitting this post even though I've already published it. Hey, it's not even been two weeks!

A month or so ago Isaac posted some really wonderful information about the history of the growler as well as thoughts about growlers and their future from leaders in the beer industry. Today I was reminded of why I don't like growlers, and I want to tell you a little about it. Today I began rereading an old post I wrote a year ago about how to make Colorado Springs a bigger beer destination. I plan to do a type of rewrite of that post soon, so I'm not going to link to it now, but there's one thing that immediately stuck out to me and I had to write about it. In the post I say:

I will create a list of areas I believe we could improve, but I will say that I believe the biggest and most important item is to develop a thriving local beer and pub scene for ourselves. Neighborhood communities should each have their own craft beer bar to encourage walking and getting to know those you live around.

That got me thinking about growlers and their role in developing a beer community. I don't really like growlers, although I really like Isaac's posts, and I have been known to use growlers here and there. The reason I don't like them, especially in this town, is because I think people need to drink in the pub more often. More people need to get out to their brewery, sit in there and drink some beer, rather than buy a growler and leave. You lose your connection to a place, to a brewery, when you don't ever go there, and when you do it's just to get in and get out. The pub, or the brewery, should be a center for social activity (my opinion), a way to bond people together, and the less that happens the less of a craft beer community we'll have.

We have some really great drinking spots, we have plenty of room for more great beer bars, but the only way for them to be successful and for new ones to be successful is to actually go to them, bring some friends, and enjoy a few pints of beer. Ultimately this is what will make Colorado Springs more and more popular with the beer crowd because showing up is what brings life to the pub. If we don't show up, no one will know about that place or care about it. Not only that, but less craft beer will be distributed to this town if we aren't out there asking for it. I think that growlers do pubs a terrible disservice. I think growlers have their place, they can be good for parties, I know that they are generally cheaper per ounce, but perhaps in this town we rely on them too much?

These are just initial thoughts, not really put together really nicely, but I wouldn't mind hearing from you all about what you think.

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The Growler Part II: The Present and Future

From kelliedayart.com

This is the 2nd and final part of our series on the growler. Check out Part One on the history of the growler. This article focuses on the views of the growler's role in the modern day beer industry from some of the leading brewers and brewery CEO's including Greg Koch from Stone, Joe Morhfeld from Odell, Garrett Oliver from Brooklyn Brewing, and Matt Thrall from Avery. The article also looks at some of the present and future modifications companies are making to growlers to make sure the beers are fresh to consumers. So sit back, grab a growler, pour a pint, turn up the radio, and enjoy the read!

Are Growlers Evil?

Since the late 1980's, the growler has been an ever increasing popular option for beer-to-go from favorite local breweries. In fact I cannot think of a brewery in Colorado today that doesn't offer a growler fill. And they are popular too (at least in Colorado). Many taprooms have a special area at the bar for growler fills only. Growlers are regular attendees of parties, potlucks, club meetings, camping trips, ski trips, and river trips. I have never seen anyone frown when they heard there was a growler of beer. Usually the person gets a big grin and immediately wants to try "the fresh" version of the beer straight from the brewery. This excitement isn't just coming from the guy who only drinks "The Beast" from a can . These positive feeling towards growlers are coming from craft beer lovers, beer judges, beer servers, beer reps, and brewers that I role with. So when I read the article Why Beer Growlers are Bad for your Brew from the website bon appetit, I was surprised at such a one sided article about something that I had always considered my ally towards enjoying beer. In the article, the writer gives a one sided account of the evils of the growler based on the views of Garrett Oliver, brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery and a well respected beer advocate in the industry. The following are some of the comments in the article:

The Growler: Part 1 The Past

***(Update - Part 2 with responses from Greg Koch, Joe Mohrfeld, and Matt Thrall is here)***

The growler has been a loyal companion of mine ever since attending that first Colorado party where someone brought this 64oz vessel of fresh beer straight from the brewery. I thought the concept was perfect, a reusable large container for transporting the freshest beer to my house straight from the brewery. For the past decade I've collected dozens of growlers and enjoyed surprising friends with fresh and/or rare treats from breweries across the country. I thought everyone loved growlers and enjoyed their delicious contents until earlier this week when I read an article entitled Why Beer Growlers are Bad for your Brew. I was pretty surprised by this one sided pretty biased article so I decided to do some research on the subject. Join me as we embark on a journey of growler history and explore the different opinions on the growler's role in enjoying fresh beer in this two part series.

Part 1: The history of the Growler

Image from Jess Kidden

The growler started its humble beginnings in the mid 1800’s before the popularity of pre-filled bottles and cans. If a customer wanted beer outside of a saloon, they would fill a container with beer. The containers ranged from pitchers to jars to jugs and were made of various materials such as glass metal and pottery. The most common container was a two quart galvanized pail. The vessels were called growlers. Growler fills were sold as a “pint” and were filled with close to a quart of beer and an equal part of foam. An early 20th century growler fill was commonly 5-15 cents.

Image from Jess Kidden

The origin of the word “growler” has many theories. The most popular theory is that it was