Homebrew into growlers?

What does How to Brew say about not using growlers? I have some 750mL swing tops that I use most times when bottling and they work great. Screw-top growlers might not have a good enough seal for carbonation and long-term storage, however.

 

came across this thread. Seems like some people have done it successfully

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/bottling-in-growlers.18431/

 

As with many things on this site, there are a number of opinions on this. Some people have done it with success, some people have had growler-sized bottle bombs and some people have said they lost carbonation because of the screw top. From the searches and combing through information that I've done I've come up with this: screw tops are bad because of the seal issue (but in some cases you can get away with using electrical tape around the cap) and many/most are not rated for the level of pressure of bottle conditionong. Swing tops are another story, for some reason.

With that in mind, for my latest batch i filled one 64 oz swing top and one 750mL swing top. That was just a week ago and all seems fine to this point. I'll report back when carbonation is complete (or if one blows up).

 

Growlers are not designed for that kind of pressure. It might work, it might not. I would not chance it, just buy/drink more beer and save the bottles.

 

The reason people recommend drinking growler fills fairly quickly is that growlers are usually filled from a keg, without any special sanitation, and without controlling the introduction of oxygen. It's a spoilage/staling thing.

 

Some growlers are fine to carb in and others aren't. Contact the manufacturer of the growler to determine if they are appropriate to use for carbonating.

Failure to exercise this precaution may result in glass shards exploding in your face.

 

If you fill a growler from a bucket, you would (I assume) sanitize it and the racking equipment.
From an O2 perspective, you'll introduce some (it's just the way bottling is, regardless if it's a 12 ounce bottle or a growler), but some of the O2 (not all) will be used by the yeast.

When you fill a growler from a keg, you have the impact of any previous O2, plus the new O2 you're introducing.

 

For a couple reasons - if you're bottling at home, likely you'll put the growlers through the same sanitation regimen as regular bottles. The small amount of oxygen left in the neck when bottling homebrew is used by the yeast as they are carbonating the beer.
Others have said not to use growlers at all, and I mostly disagree. There are a couple types - some use thinner glass, others are thicker. The only time I've had a bottle of homebrew let go was a lighter growler of hefeweizen, so you'd need to watch out for that. Most of the time, I've had good luck bottling into growlers, even using the plain caps. Most of the time I do use the heavier plastic poly-seal caps like these: http://www.home-brew.com/x/product.php?productid=1875&cat=&page=1
Beer in these has lasted as long as regular bottles with no noticeable loss of freshness or carbonation.

 

Some of the O2 introduced at bottling will be used, but not all of it.

 

I have bottled in growlers, even screw-top ones, without a problem. Most of the time. There is of course no guarantee on any bottling that you won't make bottle bombs. If you brew long enough, you'll make a few, you'll see. While screw top growlers have successfully contained and carbonated beer, you have to assume there's a somewhat higher chance they'll explode than say, 22oz bombers, those great stubby bottles from green flash, or something that comes in a bottle that's obviously stronger and more robust than a growler.

But yes, it can be done and has been done. With a slightly higher per-bottle rate of asplosion.

Now I do recommend keeping your carbonating bottles in an open-top container, right next to your bed, or better yet, your wife's side of the bed. That way if they explode, you won't miss any of the hot action.

 

I've always read that the glass is thinner (YMMV) and you wouldn't hold carbonation for the time you would want to let the beer condition. If you have an extra little bit of beer, you can try it. Personally, I'm not against filling an empty 2 liter bottle instead. Oh, and have some fridge space available in case you think you're getting too fizzy.

 

I sometimes bottle into a heavy duty 64 oz German flip top growler, it works fine. Just make sure the pink rubber seals are in good shape, no cracks or tears, and it will be fine. Save the screw tops for starters and your local growler fill station.