So after a couple of years of legal argument, growlers have firmly become a staple if the scene here in dc's retail stores. However, I have noticed that the price points on them are kind of absurd. For example, check D'Vines website. Most of what is on there is available in bottles, often for the same price or less than the price of the growlers. Most notably DC brau the Citizen is at dvines for 11$. Why fill at dvines at all if you can make it to the brewery for a fill that is only.9? Why fill a growler if for the same price you get 8 more ounces in individual containers? DC retail growlers seem like a pointless purchase.
Growlers in general seem to be this way (cheaper per oz in bottled/canned format). Which is why I stick to draft only options for my fills.
That works well *if* you can get to DC Brau or any of the local area breweries, during the hours they're filling growlers. DC gets in a ton of out-of-market beer from all over the place, with its absurdly (and thankfully) lax liquor laws. There's a ton of stuff out there that will never see individual packaging that's ripe for fills.
I got growlers of Goose Island Sofie Paradisi and the Bruery's Humulus Lager at Whole Foods, neither of which are bottled. Already I'm happy with DC now having growlers. For the most part though, I agree, growlers are largely pointless if all that's being offered is stuff that's also sold in bottles.
A 6 pack of citizen cans is the same price as a growler fill. 8 more ounces plus it won't go flat after opening. As for the keg only argument, this is sound in theory, but I have yet to see any fills being sold of out of district stuff. I have seen out of distro bottles being sold all over. Edit: I stand corrected on the out of district growlers
You're working under the assumption that both growler fills and cans are both always available, all the time, at exactly the same time. This is not the case. Sometimes cans are available; sometimes the brewery has shipped all its cans and only has a few kegs on hand to fill growlers. And yeah... all things being equal, I'd probably take cans over a growler fill. http://realdeal.washingtoncitypaper...-growler-with-10-worth-of-craft-beer-15-value Whole Foods Market P Street $8 Growler of Craft Beer from Whole Foods Market P Street (Regularly $15) P Street - Logan Circle Growlers are now on tap at Whole Foods Market P Street! Get this deal and take home a 32oz. growler ($5 value) filled with $10 worth of delicious beer. See what's on tap here.
Of course it's crazy to buy growlers of things that are available at the store doing fills or somewhere easily accessible for you. It's not super easy to find but as mentioned occasional beers that aren't packaged any other way show up. Also some things being do end up cheaper in growlers as I've gotten Stone Old Guardian and Smuttynose Zinneke at D'vines for less than what it'd cost me to buy 2 bomber of either. The other thing is that while it can be a bit of a novelty it can also help get more people interested in craft. One of my friends who I've slowly been getting into beer started going out and buying growlers at D'Vines of things I never would have expected him to buy just because he enjoys the experience of growlers. Yes I wish they were sold cheaper and know some places gauge like crazy but the same happens with bottles. The fact that it's another avenue to get people into craft makes me happy and hopefully they too realize when prices are too high and go with bottles instead.
The bomber argument is actually a good one. A few things I have seen that are typically only in 22's are a better deal with a growler fill now that I think about it
1. Lot of beer spills when you're filling, especially if it's a saison and person pouring actually wants your fill to look decent once the foam has resided on the drive home. 2. Lot of people want to "sample" each and every one before deciding 3. Don't underestimate the amount of "last keg runs out mid growler fill"- gotta dump that one. Factor in sixtels and "one-offs" where there may only be one sixtel allocated in total for the shop/bar. I'm sure other people can add to the "volume to price ratio growler vs bottle" argument.
I would think freshness would be a mark in favor of growlers. If I bring in my own 32oz growler to a WF or bottle shop in DC or Arlington, will any/most/some places fill it?
But it's not really draft. It's draft into a bottle into a glass. I've heard of small brewers who hate growler fills, since most of the time the people bringing in growlers don't go through proper sanitization procedures. Some don't even bother to rinse the growler. That would definitely negatively affect the quality of the beer.
Unrelated, I use my growlers a lot for my homebrew. I soda-keg most of what I brew, and I never want to be that guy that hauls a keg, CO2 tank, tap system, and bucket + ice to a house party. I've seen that guy. It's no fun being that guy.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323394504578608383489166540.html At Ale! Yeah, a beer shop in Decatur, Ga., growlers comprise 40% of the store’s sales, though that number was as high as 70% when it first began selling growlers in 2011 after the state’s law changed. Craft beer enthusiasts like novelty, says owner Eddie Holley, and "people get really excited at the beginning."
There's a reason I generally only get growlers of beers that are draft only, or ones I can't regularly find in bottles/cans.
