Tired Hands

lots of bottle shops around me have growler stations and i've gotten friendly with many managers and asked that question and the overwhelming reply is that they don't really want to encourage people to stock up on growlers that they don't plan to open immediately. i can understand that from a business perspective, but hate it as a consumer.

 

I've had a couple growlers that I brought home one evening, that weren't fit for consumption by the following day. They were completely flat. On the other hand...I've had a couple I didn't get around to for 3 days or more, that were carbonated quite well. I don't know what the deal is, really. The 2-3 individuals whom I've muled the stuff for semi-routinely...have absolutely loved it and stated they haven't had any issues whatsoever.

 

I agree with the CP fill statement too. That being said, I'm not familiar with ANY places in SE PA that do CP fills. Now...there are a ton of places, and I'm sure someone must, but I'm not familiar with them.

 

Do you know what the cost is? When Victory did their renovations back in '08, I read somewhere that they claimed that their new tap system with CO2 purging machine cost something like 1 million dollars. That seems like more than a bit of a stretch, but those thingies have to cost a pretty penny.

 

The machine that Victory, Troegs, etc. use runs $20-25K

 

it's been claimed that a correct non-counter pressure filled growler is just as good, if not better, than counter pressure filled growler. i think it's poor practice to spend the money for a CP system, without educating your staff on a correct growler fill. I've seen growlers put into the CP system and left there for a while uncapped, or brought out and then left uncapped for some time. education is free. CP systems are not.
we should just make an entirely new thread on this stuff. going a bit off topic. sorry for that.

 

I still haven't been to this place yet but I'm really looking forward to my first visit.

 

As has already been mentioned Victory & Troegs have CP filling machines. Sly Fox also has one at their brewpub (and the tasting room?).

One of the benefits of the CP filling process is that CO2 is first introduced into the bottle (CO2 is heavier than air) to displace the air in the bottle. The ‘problem’ with air is the presence of oxygen (air is approximately 20% oxygen). The introduction of oxygen in beer will result in the oxidation of the beer (oxidized beer = off flavors). A growler that has been filled via a CP filling machine will have little oxygen introduced and therefore will be a more stable packaged product. In addition the counter pressure filling process fills under pressure which keeps the carbonated beer’s CO2 to remain in solution. Filling the growler from a tap faucet results in CO2 erupting out of solution, creating some foam.

In summary there are a number of SEPA breweries/brewpubs which have CP filling machines which result in growler fills which are more stable (from a potential oxidation perspective) and with ‘better’ carbonation.

Cheers!

 

Victory also CPs their entire bottling line.

 

Was just at TH yesterday and they wouldn't fill my growler...because it was clear! No logo, just clear. Idiot named Steve who works downstairs apparently knows shit about beer because he was afraid it would get light struck on my drive home. Maybe they should start serving beers in brown cups so it isn't light struck before you lift the glass to your mouth. They are making great beers here but it sucks that pricks like this who have no actual knowledge of beer are giving them a bad reputation.

 

I have had the same experience. There is being beer geeky, then there is being really beer geeky. Sometimes, people forget that you are talking about beer. I appreciate that the establishment wants to take every precaution that they can to ensure that their beer is presented properly, but it does get ridiculous.

It is not just them. One time at Termini's Bakery, I told them that someone in my office and I wanted to purchase one of their strawberry short cake rolls. Asked if they could cut one in half and put half in each box. No! Asked why and was told that they did not want me to complain about the way it was cut and not purchase it. Said OK, no problem, just give me the knife and let me cut it. No! Asked why and was told that they could not control the presentation of the cake if someone took one of the halfs and "put it out." Said OK, asked if I could simply have an extra box and I would take the full cake back to my office and cut it. No! Asked why and they said same reason as for #2.

 

“Lightstruck - While this defect is well known in both odor, taste and origin, it is sometimes not realized how little exposure can produce a noticeable lightstruck character . . . Bottle beer can become lightstruck in less than one minute in bright sun, after a few hours in diffuse daylight and in a few days under normal fluorescent light.”
- The Practical Brewer, Master Brewers' Assoc. of the Americas (2d. Ed. 1977) (quote stolen from jesskidden in this probrewer thread)

"In a clear glass or a green glass, [skunking] will happen very, very quickly. [As in a matter of seconds, not hours]."
- Charles Bamforth, former Chair of the Food Science and Technology Department and current Professor of Malting and Brewing Sciences at the University of California-Davis, here

 

Plus, annoying one customer is better than having a ton of others get beer in a clear growler, get home, and then complain the beer isn't any good. For every customer that knows to keep their clear growlers out of the sun, there are 50 others that don't. But hey calling people idiots and pricks can be fun I guess.

 

who uses clear growlers anyway?

 

East End, for one

 

Im still glad they didnt fill your ******ed clear growler.

 

Warning you about the clear growler is one thing. Refusing to fill it is another, unnecessarily extreme.

Maybe they should have offered a trade in?

 

I'd hate to see what this guy would think if he tried to get a clear growler of Hill Farmstead beer. If you think Jean and co. are unreasonable, wait until you see how Shaun would react.