Tired Hands Growler Policy

Plenty of places to jump into the conversation here, and not to go on about whether Mythaeus is a good guy or not (he is), but I have to jump in with a few words about "beer advocacy" and the accusations of d-baggery.

Not all of us are trying to win trades. Not to beat a dead horse re: Mythaeus, but he did, in fact, send me TH growlers as a pickitupformebro situation, without any specific beer in return. At some point, I hope to return the favor, as in when I have access to something similarly special/hard to find.

As for myself, I've sent out beer in return for nothing but a shipping label, just because I want other folks to try the goodness of the beer. Others have done the same for me.

Look, most of the "beer advocacy" that many of us are involved with does not take place on the trade boards at all. Right now, there are about four people I've met through BA with whom I'm sending beer back and forth, with no one keeping score. I've literally stopped recording what I've sent to and received in boxes from them. I can't speak for all of their motivations, but I do it because it's fun, because I can, and because others here have shown great generosity.

 

Thank god all of the world's other problems have already been solved...

 

I feel brewers need to live up to no one's rules but their own.. My local doesn't allow growler fills off site, even though it sends out kegs. Of course I love that Policy. Of course outsiders hate it.

We are going to Tired Hands in 2 weeks, I am sad we will be limited to how much goodness we can bring home. Totally support the reasoning behind the rule, though.

 

I hope you make it out to Tired Hands soon. For the most part, really great crew of people. Almost all of their employees do a great job of filling growlers to preserve the quality of the beer. Growlers are purged with CO2 and filled at an angle to limit the release of CO2 from solution. Additionally, their taps allow them to control the rate of beer flowing from the taps (Too fast=More aggitation/more foaming). I've watch many growlers being filled at TH (I'm a beer nerd who has worked at a brewery and filled growlers), and I can say that there is low to no head as the growlers are being filled and little overflow/spillage. This means little to no CO2 escaping from solution. I also feel that TH beers have lower carbonation than most other breweries. So, that being said, there is less room for error, but, also, a slimmer window when keeping growlers (TH growler tags recommend drinking within 48 hours).

Don't take my word for it. Go and see for yourself. Let me know if you make a trip and maybe I'll be in the area.

- Joe

 

I guess I am pretty neutral here, I have no problem with trading the beer and no problem with TH policy on growler fills. The real problem here was not people buying a few growlers but those buying an excess of growlers. With such a small setup, having a beer kick in 18 hours can cause big problems for their production schedule. Does anyone want TH to start compromising quality to ensure more beer is available?

 

I've said all I need to say about the policy, but I want to address the freshness and carbonation. I stashed a few growlers of Alien Church away because it's hands down my favorite beer from them, ever. Today I decided to open the last one I have filled on 2/18, just now, still drinking it as I am typing this and it's just as fresh as I can remember it to be. Carbonation is full, as you can see by the head and the beer itself is RIDICULOUSLY good.



Here's one with CNN front page just in case you doubt the date:



In all fairness, there are TH beers that "go flat" quickly. Uyawa Pog, my favorite DIPA from them, was like that. In reality, I feel, they were just low carb'ed to begin with as I found with most of their sours. There saisons are alway well-carbed, but that kinda goes without saying.

 

I agree Al, it can vary from beer to beer so it could be a crapshoot and why I think they want you to consume in 48 hours. I would never have been able to hold on to that one for as long as you did, definitely one of my favorites

 

Well said Joe.

 

Just had Alien Church, also my fave TH beer so far.

 

Well...you didn't know how many I hoarded for myself without the new policy in place...Hahahahaha

 

Thanks for posting your experience.

Even without the swing top and a simple screw top of 64 oz. growler, I've never had issues with undercarbing. This is from a growler CO2 machine from Peekskill. A CO2 burst and tube fill up from Trillium. A simple tap to growler fill (no tube) from Jack's Abby.

They ranged from being in my fridge for 1.5 weeks to 4 weeks. The Peekskill one actually wasn't secured well in my trunk, rolled and knocked around all over, and somehow leaked a bit from the top (I guess not sealed tightly enough).

Even with all these different variables, none of the beers turned out undercarbed. As long as you keep the growler in the fridge and drink it all at once, you should be fine.

 

The real question is...how many Mago Tago's do you have stashed behind your Alien Church?

 

Thanks for the info, very few places purge with CO2 and explain to their fillers to go slow when filling. I'm not sure why my buddies growler would have been flat only after a day or two from getting from the brewery. I do hope to visit them this summer.

 

Funny enough, I have none. I didn't like Mago Tago

I grew up eating mango...like every day, so I have a certain expectation of mango. I barely detected mango in Mago...and what I detected wasn't the good mango either. I tasted A LOT more good mango in Alien Church than I did with Mago.

 

I was sick last week so have still not got to try Mago Tago but I am not the biggest fan of Simcoe, so who knows if I will like it. Love me some Mosaic hops though.

 

Yeah, every single of my 127 trading partners who received Mago loved it...fools!

 

One of my all-time favorite beer is Alpine Bad Boy, which is growlers only. I'm lucky enough to have a really awesome trading partner to goes there frequently and have no problem shipping growlers. Mine came fully carb'ed and fresh even 8-9 days after fill in a non-swing top. I'm a much bigger fan of Alpine because of it. I have the exact experience with Societe The Pupil (stainless 64oz) from the same trading partner.

 

I think the real victory here is that the quality of TH beer will remain high.

With this rule in place, not only does Tired Hands make sure that their locals are satisfied first, but they make sure that the beer they brew is served when it's ready instead of being rushed to the taps to make sure there is beer to sell. I live a little over an hour away and even though I'm sometimes reliant on friends to bring a growler back for me when they make the trip, I'd much rather have a high quality growler less often than a mediocre one whenever I wanted it.

 

Wait till you read the new policy, in effect starting tomorrow

 

I completely defended their decision to limit fills (see earlier post in this thread) but the newest rule requiring their growlers seems a bit strange. Not crying, I just consider it a waste of money to fill my house with countless growlers that are all the same size and perform the same function and are just as "optimized" for their system as theirs are.