Kern River Growler fill?

I highly doubt it, and no

 

For Citra growler fills you'll need to invent a time machine to a couple years back. Ah, the good ol' days before that medal. When you could walk away with bottles and two growlers filled with Citra.

Just Outstanding, Class V and Isabella Blonde will be your growler options and more than likely in only their own growler.

 

You guys think Citra will be on tap for me to grab a pint on Thursday? Drivin up to Mammoth area and this is only a 30 min drive off course for me and this will prob be the only time i ever go here because it is so damn far and out of the way

 

Call ahead.

 

I shot them an email right now but im sure they are busy figuring out all the bottle sales. Probably going to go either way just to check it out

 

At worse, you'll get some Just Outstanding and Class V/Class X on tap and bottles to take on your venture.

 

Citra won't go on tap until Friday, February 21st. There will be no growler fills of Citra, and we do not fill growlers with other logos (or blank growlers). Feel like I should say something positive at this point... Winter Olympics sure have been fun to watch; anybody catch that amazing womens x-country ski relay finish? That was actually very compelling TV.

 

I saw the men's x-country ski relay final and that was pretty awesome, but I missed the women's. Awesome post, btw.

 

Man I really wanted to stop by and grab a pint of citra on my way up to mammoth. Never had it before and i don't think ill get another chance since you guys are quite out of the way, Oh well. Such is life. Don't know if its really worth adding an Hour of driving to my trip up if there's no citra but maybe ill still swing by to check it out. Can get most of your regular line up in bottles so ill prob have to skip the trip over there.

 

Have you considered it?
I scrapped the logo off my KRBC growler so that I can get it filled at multiple places; I hated scrapping it, but it kinda made sense... fill it at 20+ breweries or fill it at KRBC.

 

We have considered it but have chosen not to do so at this time. The main issue is dealing with different styles of growlers, getting appropriate label approval from ttb and just the general hassle of it all when we are busy. Once upon a time, before growler rules were clarified, we used to just slap a sticker on the growler and call it good; so it really has nothing to do with trying to sell an extra $10 in glassware. Besides, the 22 oz bottles at the pub are not that much more per ounce and are much better for the beer.

 

Not that you guys necessarily need anymore props from the craft beer community, but maybe addressing the blank/generic growler issue when you guys have some "downtime" will generate even more. Most of us want, at the very least, the ability to fill blank growlers of a size you've approved to cut down on clutter, not to mention it's more green/sustainable. You get to satisfy treehuggers, neatfreaks, and value shoppers all at the same time.

 

Considering how many people won and that you can pick it up over the course of a week, I can't imagine anything like that.

 

The last time when I was a winner, there wasn't any line. Spreading out the pick up window like that kills any rush needed to go. Saturday may get a little busy, but I can't imagine that it'll be anything other than walking in there and possibly waiting 10-15 minutes for a table if you want to sit indoors.

If you rush up to Kern for opening time, you'll possibly have to compete with... that brush that is blowing across the road to the general store.

 

Typically any rush we have will be on Saturday morning for people looking for draft. We expect to be busy, but judging from last time, we should not have people waiting in line for hours or camping out.

We are not morally or financially opposed to filling blank growlers; it is on our radar. With that said, it is not as straightforward as you might think. There are legal labeling issues. There is the hassle of filling that odd-shaped flip-top growler with the new bartender (which can be crippling to the flow of the restaurant on a busy Friday night). There is 2 liter growler guy. There is 15 growler trader guy. There is the generally poor sanitary condition of most growlers we see. If we say we will only fill a certain type of growler the guy with the odd-shaped flip-top growler gets mad and causes a scene. Besides, for $15 even you can get 3 bombers (66 oz) of JO IPA that are sanitized, CO2 purged, capped on foam and ready to go. Plus you can even get 15 cent back from the great state of California (and most people don't tip on a bottle sale). Compare this with the growler fill cost in San Diego...

I do get the desire to be able to fill a blank growler, and we may address it with the new facility, but for now we have to stick with our current program.

 

I took the two hour detour to KRBC last week on my way to Fresno and picked up a Growler of their Winter DIPA. I've never had Citra but the DIPA was outstanding. I also saw the barkeep fill a growler of Dirty Hippy. I at least tried everything but the blonde and they are all great options. A growler would be too much stout for me but the IPAs are just outstanding. Pun intended.

 

The Winter DIPA is one of my favorite beers ever. Can't lie.