How long is a growler good for?

I have screw cap and swing top styles and both seem to hold the seal fine for the day or two I typically take to empty a growler. I have used swing or flip top bottles for home brewing and they have held a seal as well as the capped bottles over a month or two but, no matter what, the beer tends to go flat within a day after you open the bottle for the first time.

 

The Brewers Association Draught Quality group suggests that you open growlers "within 24-72 hours of filling and should be consumed promptly after opening." They conducted studies with different types of growlers and filling equipment and found that "...beer quality begins to suffer almost immediately after filling. Within 24 hours, carbonation, mouthfeel and the hallmark flavors of your favorite beer brand degrade, and within 72 hours stale flavors become obvious."

http://www.draughtquality.org/wp-content/uploads/The-Facts-About-Growlers-v1.pdf

 

yeah... I generally tell people open it within two days, and once it is opened, finish it within one.

 

I do not buy growlers to save, so mine are always good for 4 pints, no more, no less.

 

A growler lasts about an hour and a half or so for me! 4 pints...

 

I've kept mine for any where from 4 days to 4 months and they have kept fine. I know some breweries have filled some for own consumption and have kept them up to a year. When I fill them from work or at brewfests, I fill them so that the beer is almost to the top, but the head is foaming over; pushing out the oxygen which I think is why they keep so long.Once I open one though, I try to have it finished between 24 days.

 

I think there are some factors. You want to make sure there isn't too much air inside the growler. I always prefer them to be filled to at least the mid point of the neck of the growler. The seal is important too. Swing top growlers are great, screw cap ok, and plastic caps are worthless. I haven't experimented with aging anything in a hydroflask.

With all that said, I once drank a growler of The Abyss that was filled in 2007 ( a 2006 vintage) in 2011 (it could have actually been 2012, not sure now). It was still nicely carbonated and drank beautifully. That's just one example, I've had others that were older or just slightly younger a few times. It likely all comes down to proper storage, a resilient style, and proper filling.

 

the key is the quality of the growler and of course it cannot be opened. Still I just used to get them to save money and drink at home, so mine would never last long. once opened the beer here got bad quick...2 or 3 days tops.

 

What exactly is the secret for filling the swing top growlers so they last for longer than a day? I get my swing top growlers filled at the same place at least once a week and always, if it is not drank within 24 hours of filling it has gone completely flat. Once it is opened it better be consumed within a couple hours or again, no carbonation. They use the standard fill method of line running from the spout to the bottom of the growler. It is really quite frustrating.

 

Swing tops usually only last a day or two for me once they've been opened. If you have a screw top you can get these:
http://www.growlersaver.com/
http://uncrate.com/stuff/tapit-cap/
http://growltap.com/

 

I often get growler fills at tired hands and they put enjoy within 48hours. I have kept some for 2 weeks and they still taste fantastic. I have shipped some across the country with great results as well. I will say once you open you better be ready to finish that evening, which is no problem for me.....actually a benefit!

 

They need to overflow it to push out all the air and cap it immediately.

 

I got a growler filled at Societe. They wash, then purge with CO2, and immediately fill with beer to overflowing. Cap on.

I hadn't seen the CO2 purge before other than in the full counter pressure cabinet filler.

Thought that was interesting.

 

packaged beer is different from keg beer in one crucial way and that is the way it is packaged.

keg beer is unpasteurized and should always be kept cold. bottle beer will always stay fresh longer if kept cold, but it is not nearly as critical. it is not even necessary. and it has nothing to do with the temperature of the beer when it was packaged. bottle beer is filled cold as a matter of fact.

so keep your growler cold and it will stay fresh a lot longer.

yes, yes... some will now chime in with "i have had IPA such and such, it was stored at room temp and it was fine... doesn't change how beer is packaged. higher abv and ibu's offer a fair amount of protection.

Cheers.

 

I agree with this post, I recently got a gagillion growlers and crowlers filled of CCB Dark Woods and when we drank it fresh, it had a tobacco head that was hoppy and hiding the chocolately, oak goodness. We didnt finish the growler from four ounce pours until the next night but when we cracked it back open... man, was that beer perfect. No head, just a pitch black imperial porter slash stout that could not be competed with.


Most of the time, CCB pumps growlers with CO2 before they cap'em too. I feel like, there, it kind of depends on how busy it is or whose wheeling and dealing the beer. Sometimes they don't.

 

I was happy to finally get my mitts on a superior growler, thanks to the stainless steel swing top I bought @ Cellar Rats. I have a couple of screw cap style & I've never gone more than 72 hrs w/those. Just never fully trusted things to stay fresh in them whatsoever. Kind of like a 2 liter bottle, once you pop it, you need to get on it with the consumption.

 

I have had swing tops last over 6 months with no problems at all, and in fact have some filled longer than that I am testing for just such a purpose.

As long as it is purged with C02, a good quality growler and filled to the top before closing, it will last for quite a while, as long as it is unopened.

 

Has anyone else every tried something like this? It's a PET Growler I originally bought for taking my homebrew on the road. My local places will gladly fill it as long as it's clean. I let them use their cap but after the first pour I switch to the cap shown here. Just for fun I left about a pint, pressed it up with CO2 and it was still good as new over a week later. You can't use this with glass do to pressure, but it sure works great otherwise. Just a thought.

 

Mine are all screw top, and they last from a few days to a few weeks unopened. Once opened, 1-3 days is what I try to drink it in, that's just not always possible so sometimes I lose a bit, but I enjoy getting them filled from various places locally as well when I travel to other states.

 

Someone explain to me how a growler is any different than a standard bottle of beer please?

With that in mind, I don't see why it can't last just as long, if properly filled.