Cali Growler Fills

Eh, Growler fills in California in general are summed up as either it's a small time brewery that will fill everything to get product moving until they get big enough and can order their own growlers, at which point they pull out that silly phrasing of the labeling law rule and make you buy their own for fills that are never worth it unless it's a rare instance that they'll fill something that isn't bottled and cheaper in that route.

In short, it's pointless in California to own a growler for any place that bottles.

 

Having just returned from Oregon I can safely say California is utterly failing at Growlers. Being able to go to a beer bar and get a wide variety of beers filled for $6/32oz or $12/64oz with any growler is pretty darn nice. The number of shops that have great bottle prices and let you open on site for zero corkage is also awesome.

 

Just FYI, I purchased californiagrowlerfills.com and have it set to forward to my spreadsheet so that you don’t have to bookmark that crazy URL (and also easier to share with everybody).

 

Buddy who moved to the state texted me asking what's up with growlers here, since he hasn't seen any growler fill stations or beer bars promoting growler fills. I had to break the news to him gently...

 

I haven't gotten a growler fill in 2 years, I don't miss them.

 

Pretty much this for me as well. The last one I did was probably at Alpine. Makes me sick when I see a liquor store that I follow on Facebook in, of all places, South Dakota that was offering 64oz growler fills this week of Founders All Day and Centennial IPA for $8.76. Those would make me get growlers again.

 

@thome50 What, growler fills in SD...where? Might need 2 start dragging some empties with on trips home.

AND I still love growlers...every trip to OR! Stupid CA growler policy.

 

Good Spirits Fine Wine and Liquor. Part gas station, part craft beer bottle shop, part wine shop and part homebrew shop all in one. A rather nice selection. I was there in October of last year and they will fill any blank growler. I bought an empty one for $1 I believe (32oz). They always have six or so beers on tap. Link to their fb.

 

I only get a couple filled a year. For example, I was passing through Portland and got a growler of Adam at Hair of the Dog. The bottles are very difficult to find and cost a lot. Also, I use them for local breweries (Faction and Discretion) who don't bottle or can.

 

Cellarmaker will fill any growler with almost everything they have on tap (none of which are bottled), while Sante now always has two growler fill options (none of which are ever bottled) and will fill any growler as well. Growler fills are most definitely still worthwhile in my opinion for where I live.

 

What are the prices of growler fills at Cellarmaker? I've heard great things about Cellarmaker and would hope their growler prices are reasonable. The times I've been to SARA the growler fill options weren't anything that I'd be interested in based on getting better beer, per the style, in bottles for cheaper from other breweries. Not to say they were bad beers but definitely not worth a growler fill to me.

 

I don't recall exact Growler prices, but I want to say along the lines of $10/$18 for 32oz/64oz respectively. I am an admitted Sante homer, but I consider their growler fills better than much of what I would find at an average bottle shop. Chavez is a top tier robust porter, 831 is a good ipa, and Simpleton and Silver Lies are both really tasty hoppy beers. Just my two cents.

 

I just want more Crowlers!

 

Totally agree with that Silver Lies, really really good.

 

That is exactly the bad pricing that makes me shy away from ever doing growler fills anymore. $18 for 64oz of beer in a growler or $12 for 72oz+ of beer in a six pack. Inherently growlers should cost less per ounce than bottles. There is less cost in raw material if nothing else. And specifically for SARA 831 is a prime example of a nice IPA but by no means is it worth the higher price than readily available fresh IPA such as Union Jack or Pizza Port Swamis in cans/bottles.

 

I tend to agree with you. When I see prices like this I tend to only grab a 32 oz fill and that's still rare.

 

@SLOBrewCRUZin no homerism here, SARA is ridiculously delicious. So far it's been an annual destination but I've always been happy to be able to take some 831 back home with me.

As a rule of thumb I refer to Russian River's $15 fills. As in, "Can I get as good or better beer for a comparable price (once I factor in transportation, etc)?"

I'm jealous of those of you with ~$10 fills. When I was in Michigan earlier this summer I found myself getting growler fills everywhere--in part because of their less restrictive policies (for the most part *ahem, Bell's*)--and in part because the pricing was $8-12.

All this being said I've had the environmental costs of packaging on my mind a lot lately. Even with recycling I'd rather "reuse" than "renew". I just wish it was easier to do so in California!