straight forward, just wanting to know if they are similiar to a growler life, or are extended more. thanks in advance everyone
If you guys think that all crowlers will always last a while, you are out of your mind. Crowlers are not counter pressure filled and there is no refermentation in the crowler to scavenge oxygen. A crowler can last a decent amount of time if it is properly flushed with CO2 and has little to no headspace, but you can't assume that every place with a crowler machine has employees who know how to do this. The answer is: pretty much exactly the same as a growler. I've had growlers go bad after a couple days and growlers that have held up for weeks. Depends on who filled it.
Yeah the handful of places I have been to in Houston don't have that sophisticated a setup. I would definitely treat it like a growler
In my experience it depends entirely on the filling process. I've had some that lasted like a growler (non counter pressure) and some that were bad 15 minutes later because the person didn't know what they were doing in filling it - not CO2 flushed, filled to overflowing, and capped with no foam. I still drank it, but it was flat and not worth the price of admission.
Previous growler vs. crowler thread: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/crowlers-vs-growlers.292014/ tl;dr? This from From Oskar Blues website: Here’s how a CROWLER™ works: Oskar Blues added a CO2 purge station to purge the cans before filling them, which helps assure that there is no beer-degrading oxygen added to the beer. The CROWLER™ is purged and immediately filled. Then the lid is applied and the CROWLER™ is placed onto the seamer pedestal. The pedestal is turned so that the can is raised up and locked under pressure into the seamer. Turn it on, and push GO. Turn it off, twist the pedestal to lower the can, and take it with you to enjoy. Once you open the CROWLER™, drink it up—ensuring the craft beer is consumed in a single serving while the beer is in its prime, just like in the taproom. As a result of the process, the beer inside can stay fresh and carbonated for weeks or months, and maybe longer.
I popped open a crowler after 2 weeks and the beer tasted (just about) exactly the same as it did on tap the day I got it. As long as the operator knows how work the system that @barflybastard quoted from the OB website, a crowler should last a long time.
I bought a Crowler of Cream and Sugar Please from Cycle and opened it at a share 2 months later. People were VERY pleased with the beer that came out. Full carb, normal mouthfeel, etc. It's all in who is doing the filling, much like a growler (or bottle or can for that matter.)
As long as they are counter filled and done the corect way the limit is when you open it. I have not had any go bad one me. Like others have said it all depends on who fills it.
About as long as I've been able to go is 3 weeks and then just had to drink it. It was just as good as the first one the day I brought it home. I know they filled it right, watched them purge the can with CO2 and fill it to the top and set the lid on foam before they sealed it.
