Growler Deposits

last time I bought a growler it was $5 for a 32 flip top or 64oz screw top. If I had the ability to return it I would. You will end up losing when everyone wants to get cash back for their growler, you will be stuck with them.Or are you selling them plus a deposit?

Either way, at least around here growlers cost more than the same beer in a 6 pack. I almost never get growlers due to cost. When the local pizza brew place has a good beer I will get a 64oz for around $12, they dont can so its equal to 4 pints for $12. Its on my way home from work so its easy.

Enjoy

 

I recommend that you, as a potential business owner, don't substitute your personal preferences for customers' preferences. The downsides you cited in the quoted post accrue to the customer,* and you should let the customer decide if he wants to deal with them. If the people are telling you they want crowlers, and I very much think they will be, you probably should give the people what they want, even if you think they might spill some beer. I'm much more sympathetic to your original storage-convenience-based argument, because at least that's a cost to you (not the customer) that it's perfectly reasonable to want to avoid.

* With the possible exception of the supposed "wastefulness" problem, which arguably produces a negative externality, but keep in mind that aluminum can be recycled remarkably efficiently.

 

I work part time at my friends growler store, and we basically do this same thing. I was a customer at the store before I started working, I have been friends with the owner for years before it even opened (he managed a chain of beer bars in the Houston area). Personally, I would never have even considered growlers without the deposit/exchange program. His store was the first to do it in town, then a bunch of places started coping. Though most of those closed or changed to a straight up bar. I know a brewery is very much different that a growler store, but I personally love it, and we have a lot of customers that agree. For the record, we usually specialize in beers that are not packaged so there is no other way to get these for home consumption. This will change for the first time as the laws will change in September to allow breweries to sell to go in Texas, so we will have to see how this shakes out.

 

I don't know how this might change the dynamics of deposit, recycling, inspection and cleaning for re-use, etc., but have you considered PET growlers? They weigh less than glass, don't break if dropped, can be pre-printed with your logo and (probably?) cost less than glass.

 

If you have world class beer you can put it in dog bowls and people will buy it if that is the only option. Most of my craft consumption consists of one serving of a 12 or 16 oz beer so 32oz or 64ozs that must be consumed in an accelerated time frame once opened doesn't really appeal to me. If you are wanting to be environmentally focused and you meet the criteria of producing amazing beer, then only sell it in sixth barrels or taproom only draft....

 

This is probably the best take-home point here, and I say that as a person who prefers growlers under most circumstances for a whole host of reasons. But if you are starting a new business--particularly one that is becoming pretty well saturated in most markets--then you probably do not want to present any barriers to potential customers buying your beer in formats that they are used to buying.

As for personal reasons for the "no" vote... If I lived close to you and bought enough beer to go, I would bring my own growler. If there is even a remote possibility of stopping at a brewery (and when isn't there?), I have learned to just carry one of the 20 from my closet. If I was from out-of-town, I would not want a growler that had been to someone else's rager and ended up in their toilet. I know it would get washed and sanitized (right?), but if I don't know your business well and fully trust it, then it isn't happening. I can't be the only one with this psychosis. And regarding travel, packing up multiple glass growlers to go in a manner that keeps them from breaking can be a hassle. Taking out several crowlers is super easy. Goes back to the concept of barriers to buying your beer above.

 

In line with the PET recommendation, have you considered metal containers? The deposit would have to be higher but they are more useful to the consumer (and conceivably the deposit could be lower than the retail price for a metal water bottle since you would be buying wholesale and not needing to profit as much off the bottle as a typical retailer) and the wear and tear on the metal growlers would add some character to your business

 

Are metal (cleanable, reusable) growlers a thing? I haven't seen them up here in my corner of the world, and we seem to be early adopters.

 

They are around, usually insulated, and I don't think I've ever seen a 64 oz cheaper than 30$. Usually more like $50, so that changes the value proposition a bit

 

Are you talking about the double-wall, insulated ones (there's a certain brand name, but I'm spacing on it)? I see those. I thought single wall, cheap ones.

 

Ya I've only seen double walled ones.