Cali Growler Fills

Noble Ale had $30 fills of their newest Mosaic Yum Yum TIPA for one day only. Thirty!! Come on man!

 

Even in SLO where I grew up, it is near impossible to find fresh Union Jack. I agree about Swamis, though it's not distributed in the Bay Area (though some places get it in). I tend to go for $10 fills, it's about the same as many bomber ipa prices, but I'll take some Modern times or Swamis cans any day

 

I am very jealous of the growler fills in other states. I have limited to filling growlers with things that aren't bottled and I am only paying over $15 if it is barrel aged or a sour. Alpine is about the only place I will fill growlers because it is like $12 for a fill

 

It's ironic that such a wasteful packaging standard exists in a state that's considered one of the "greener" states in the country. So much for zero waste...

 

I think it's a bit telling of this particular industry's ability to influence decisions through their local and Sacramento government. All that has to happen is to serious get on the radar of environmental activist organizations and they will push for this. Maybe it is that no one really organized and gave it a proper effort so far. If this is approached from the green angle it'll go much faster than consumer angle.

Pricing is a real issue for me. I want growler fill to be significantly less than bottles. I know how many feel about Point The Way and other Golden Road beers but the fact that I can and have over a dozen times filled a 64 for $7 is a benefit. This beer fresh is a good price point at $7. Wolf is $12. I'm only bringing it up because of the pricing discussion.

 

I would like that, too, but wouldn't hold my breath on it. The real comparison should be with draft beer anyway since that's what a growler is. They should at least 20% cheaper than what the price per ounce is for glasses of a beer at places that offer growlers and glasses, ideally much more.

 

Stone is pretty cheap too. $12 for a normal fill and $14 for enjoy by. Much better than by the bottle pricing.

 

I'm curious if you mean that the craft beer industry doesn't have enough juice in Sacramento to make growler stations legal.

It is exactly the opposite. The craft beer industry in California does not want growler fills outside of breweries.

 

I don't see beer as an 'industry' per se in Califoria so there is no real influence at the State level. At the local level certainly more so. Now the Wine industry, well that is a different situation. Why no deposit on wine, yet there is on water?

I agree that growler fills should be less than bottles at the source. No distro markup, no retailer markup, no issues with distro contracts, no bottling line. All profit is in House. Now if CA goes with growler fill stations then that competitive advantage would change instantly, and especially if brewers can't sell(and fill) guest beers as they can in some other States. I'm happy, for now, to fill a blank growler at brewery x. For now anyway. Baby steps.

Oh, and I'm going Pro this fall. And it won't be in California. Hmmmm.