Exploding tired hands growler

Me too!

Cheers!

 

That would be a safe assumption, I think, given their growlers are pretty standard issue. I also doubt very seriously that it's the beer itself. It just doesn't seem possible.

Which leaves the only possible explanation being something they do there that nobody else does. Maybe the branding somehow weakens it? All that small writing?

 

This brewery had similar issues and has some interesting comments on what they feel the causes were, conditions that are repeated at TH.

http://www.mysterybrewing.com/2013/06/26/on-growlers-and-explosions/

Ultimately, the public simply wants to be sold a product that doesn't explode. It's their beer, their glass, and they are the ones filling it (using a process which is different than many other places use). So they sort of "own" all the possibilities and until they resolve it they are going to get heat for it.

 

>That’s terrifying and unacceptable. If you’ve had a growler explode, we’d like to hear about it.

Well, they seemed concerned about it. Did anyone have them explode when chilled?

 

from the above:

And we all know how retailers and distributors carefully follow those same instructions noted on numerous other beers' packaging, like the Anchor brands, Pilsner Urquell among many others...

 

I've worked with Grandstand, they are a very good company, the way they imprint on growlers would in no way affect the integrity of the growler.

 

From the Mystery Brewing link:

“In the grand scheme of things, this is true for all beer, but it’s especially true for ours. Our beer is unfiltered and unpasteurized. We do it on purpose because it makes beer taste better. It also means that there is at least a small amount of yeast in all of our beer, sometimes a lot, depending on the style. When our packages are moved around, that yeast starts getting kicked up into the beer and can easily start fermenting again, if the growler is in a warm environment. Cold environments cause yeast to go dormant, but once it’s warm it can get back into solution, start eating a little bit more sugar and release more CO2, creating more pressure inside the growler than we had intended.”

The bolded portion of text equates to the beer not having completed primary fermentation 100%.

We homebrewers bottle our beers unfiltered and unpasteurized and we take great care to make sure out beers fully complete primary fermentation before bottling the beer. Otherwise we would get what are termed ‘bottle bombs’. It is really not a difficult process to ensure that primary fermentation is fully complete; you just make sure you allocate sufficient time. A typical ale will reach its final gravity in less than a week if you pitch a sufficient amount of healthy yeast.

Cheers!

 

This is why I have a cooler with ice in my car. Growlers go in there for transport home then into refridge.

 

Right, the only way it can "start fermenting again" is if the original fermentation wasn't complete, or if additional sources of sugar were added to the finished beer.

 

...or if the beer caught a "bug" from their mixed fermentations that can digest longer chain sugars, though that would be more noticable.

 

A couple of weeks ago, a trading partner in CA went to SARA a filled a growler using an empty 1L TH growler I sent him. The growler exploded in his car. This 1 incident points to growler integrity rather than the beer; however, I'm not sure 100%. Many Tired Hands beers from the Ferm seem to exert A LOT more pressures than before from what I can tell. I pop the top to relieve pressure as some people have mentioned before and a lot of time it was very difficult to pop the swing arms because the pressure is so strong. When popped, they splashed, also a sign of high pressure.

My overall sense is that it's a combination of growler integrity and higher carb (however that is caused). Until thicker growlers are introduced, if you get growlers, definitely pop the cap to be on the safe side. As @ShanePB mentioned, it doesn't impact carb or flavors as far as I can tell, even a few weeks after. I'd find it very difficult to believe that anyone can consistently tell if a beer came from a growler that the cap was quickly popped to relieve pressure vs. 1 that wasn't. Moreover, even if true, a slightly oxidized intact growler drinks a lot better than a puddle of beer and shards.

 

this is the camp I'm in. I think it may just be an issue of conditions resulting in the explosions. A lot of the stories have been from people leaving them in the car for a bit.

 

Speaking of carbination of their growlers... I got two filled Friday and popped one when I got home later that night. Went away and didnt get a chance to drink it through the weekend. I grabbed the growler yesterday expecting it to be flat as tell after being opened three days earlier, but it was still extremely carbonated. Most times I crack a growler if I dont drink it all I try to finish it within a day of opening or it tends to fade and flatten, but it wasnt the case at all with my TH growler.

 

This is what I do both to keep everything cold and to act as a receptacle in case there is an explosion. I don't buy many growlers because of this issue but some times there are a few beers where I've risked it and I usually packs styrofoam cooler with some ice packs in advance.

 

It is definitively not the growler itself. TH has had the same issue with growlers supplied from different companies. Ultimately, they are manufactured in the same plant and the way they are imprinted does not compromise the integrity of the glass. As has been stated, the EZ-Cap 1 Liter growler is a standard in the industry and there would be many more incidents at breweries around the country if it were a manufacturing defect.

 

I assumed it was the growler because it is a simple thing to check how much carbonation has been added into the bright tank, and the types of beer TH brews point to being fully attenuated when carbonation is added. I still believe it's a growler issue, especially after the incident relayed above by @mythaeus. It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for someone to consistently screw up reading the carbonation meter, but very highly unlikely.

Let's hope TH has this thing licked and we can stop wondering.

 

Dave, how will we know? Have you seen any official statements from Tired Hands on this topic?

Cheers!

 

I just wish TH would allow people to have there own growlers filled or offer crowlers as a fix to this. Seems they either never heard of BA or don't care enough to warrant an explanation. Personally, I try not to buy growlers anymore unless someone really wants one, but that usually comes with a caution, they may explode warning.

 

I buy growlers every week

 

I personally do not feel comfortable commenting on the "care" part of that statement but they certainly are not offering an open explanation on this matter which is disappointing.

Cheers!