Growler Prices: What is a good value?

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by joeyjoey104, Dec 26, 2014.

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  1. PGD120

    PGD120 Initiate (0) Jan 20, 2015 New Jersey

    i pay $9 for a 1L fill every week for kane overhead. i think its a great value
     
  2. hikanteki

    hikanteki Crusader (405) Oct 11, 2013 California
    Trader

    I wish any of the places around here would do that! That would knock about 10% off the price.

    Pretty much. I’m used to these expensive growler prices, and when I hear about people in Oregon/Washington/Colorado or other states filling up growlers of excellent, often high gravity beer for $10-$12 it blows my mind. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw someone on this forum post about regularly getting $5 growler fills.

    I’m starting to follow this mantra. At first I didn’t want to feel like I was holding something against a brewery for choosing not to fill up guest growlers...but now that the CA ABC clearly amended their policy to allow breweries to fill any growler size they have approval for, and we have 9 growlers, max of 3-4 which are filled up at any time..as cool as it would be having a collection from many different places, we just plain don’t have space for any more empty ones.
     
  3. chcfan

    chcfan Initiate (0) Oct 29, 2008 California

    Yep, it's hardly worth the trouble here. I have one from RR (where it's almost hardly worth visiting anymore and I'm certainly not driving all the way to Santa Rosa just for a fill) and Rare Barrel and plan to get a Cellarmaker one, but that's about it.
     
  4. Dicers

    Dicers Grand Pooh-Bah (3,412) Sep 2, 2012 California
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    LA County doesn't help with lower pricing. Houston most beers are about $15 for a fill. I try to stick to beers that I can't get in 4/6 packs and that are cheaper than buying 4 pints of it at a bar
     
  5. Jmorey

    Jmorey Initiate (0) Feb 10, 2015 Michigan

    I rarely fill the few growlers I have. Only time is if i am at a brewery and it is a on tap only offering, or if I know I am going to be with some friends soon and want to bring something new that no one has had. Again, this is rare.

    One of the best times was I was at a conference in Boston and we hit a tasting up at harpoon. ending up taking home a growler of an experimental espresso stout they had made and wasn't a normal offering, or could be a one off. Used my recycling bin to keep that baby on ice and cool and enjoyed it throughout the few days I was at the conference. Nice to be between sessions, go upstairs, kick off my shoes, sit back with a beer, then go back to a session later.

    Actually took a growler with me to Hopcat last night. never got one filled there before. they had the dragon's milk special reserve raspberry on tap because of an event with new holland last night. I have been wanting to try it, and struck out getting a bottle. Asked the server if they would even fill a growler since it was a special reserve and only on tap for the event, and he said they probably would. Asked about price and he didn't really seem to know if they had a process or a list for that (they should) but then said he didn't know but would probably just charge me for how many pours it would take to fill it. Ummm... at $9 for a tulip that would be $42.75 (he didn't tell me this, just figure it out quickly in my head), no thanks... That can't be the way they compute it for every beer, that is insane. I mean who would pay $20 for a growler of founders Porter, Boffo, Perrin Golden, etc... I was just surprised by it and at that point dropped the conversation since it was going nowhere. But that makes me never want to take an empty growler just in case. The growler / take-out beer price should be a lot cheaper than the pint price ...
     
  6. Hayden34

    Hayden34 Initiate (0) Aug 10, 2014 Georgia

    I can remember $7 growler fills of Stone IPA at the Stone Brewery in Escondido back when I frequented there back in 2004-2007. Those were the days!
     
  7. BeerForMuscle

    BeerForMuscle Grand Pooh-Bah (3,639) Nov 26, 2006 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Good point. I try to break it down to 12 oz price point. This way, I can see how it compares to other 12 oz, or how ridiculous of a price it is per 12 oz.
     
  8. ICMTM

    ICMTM Zealot (508) Mar 20, 2014 California
    Trader

    Value is subjective. The way I see it is a full growler is 4 pints so if a brewery will sell 4 pints of a beer the growler price should be 10-25% lower than the price for that beer.
     
  9. Irishmafia

    Irishmafia Zealot (534) Mar 21, 2012 Illinois
    Trader

    Stopped at O'so brewing when I was up at Central Waters. I believe the price of the growler was $6. They had sweet lady stout with coffee added available for $11 a fill. The regular sweet lady stout was $9.

    Price was great and the beer was too.
     
    Brutaltruth likes this.
  10. pitweasel

    pitweasel Initiate (0) Jun 11, 2007 New York

    Not one single time have I seen a growler of a beer that's also available in bottles that was priced lower per ounce than the bottled counterpart. So in my experience, growlers have never been worth it in that regard.

    Now, when it comes to keg-only beers, that's a different story. Last time I was there (admittedly, several years ago), a growler of Blackheart Stout at Middle Ages Brewing was $8 or $8.50. Seeing as it's not kegged and your only other option is to grab it at a bar (which will be at least $4, if not $5) for a pint, $8 clearly a great price in regard to cost per ounce. But then you need to decide if you want that much of it or not. I'm a lightweight, so unless I'm planning on having company over and sharing this, I'm content to just have the one pint, even though it costs more per ounce.

    What I'm getting at is that it comes down to availability, convenience, and what your needs are. Some beers I would pay $20 for a growler of, others, I just wouldn't buy in that format unless it was unrealistically low (think $5 or so).
     
  11. Brutaltruth

    Brutaltruth Grand Pooh-Bah (3,195) Mar 22, 2014 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Miss seeing Middle ages around these parts.
    As far as good growler prices Jungle Jim's in Eastgate has 20 plus taps and a great selection. Also I was getting Widmers Old Embalmer and Russian Imperial Chocolate Stout AND the Raspberry chocolate imperial stout for 5.99 a growler which I considered a bargain at Country Fresh in Beechmont as well as some of the Big Eddies stuff at 5.00 a growler at DEPS. That said, a growler is all in the eye of the beholder....still.....Medieval brewing company....miss their stuff!

    Cheers!
     
  12. Brutaltruth

    Brutaltruth Grand Pooh-Bah (3,195) Mar 22, 2014 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah Society

    What is the price these days? Would LOVE to visit Stone.
     
  13. DrMindbender

    DrMindbender Initiate (0) Jul 13, 2014 South Carolina

    I spend around $4 filling a growler of my favorite homebrew...and always 4 different brews on tap! :sunglasses:
     
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  14. DrDemento456

    DrDemento456 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,173) May 15, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Been a while since I got a growler fill only because I wanted to taste fresh Terrapin Wake N Bake. Other than this with local laws I can't walk in with this cool growler:

    Stone flip top 2L Growler

    And go into any brewery to get it filled. I pretty much am stuck with my local place (which I got the WNB) or going to East Carson Bars downtown for fills which usually range 20-25 bucks a fill.
     
  15. DrDemento456

    DrDemento456 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,173) May 15, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    It's a shame I don't live closer to some Giant Eagles they started tapping beers with a "Beer of the month" brew fill usually under 10 bucks after the cost of the growler.
     
  16. Oktoberfiesta

    Oktoberfiesta Initiate (0) Nov 16, 2013 New Mexico

    No complaints in the NM region as far as brewery growler fills. Prices are anywhere from $8-$12 ($12 is the extreme case) for most beers. Select higher ABV or special beers can be $20-$25, but still hold quite the value (a bomber runs $9-$10. A growler fill is $24. So if you do the math, three bombers fit into a growler. You save about $3-$4 overall). With $8-10 six/four packs, the value is pretty even as far as packaged vs. growler on regular core beers (for those that distribute).

    In AZ where gas station and retail chain growler fills are allowed, it seems to be much more subjective or up to that consumer. I saw FIS the last time I was in PHX for $20/full growler fill. There is definitely a "quality" reassurance that many feel draft pours have over canned/packaged. Not sure if its true. With NM brewery growler fill prices, I never hesitate. In other states, I had to do a bit more math to figure things out.
     
  17. vtblackdog

    vtblackdog Initiate (0) Sep 1, 2008 Vermont

    I think growler prices have outpaced the same in a 12 pack or case. Seems to be not worth it in Vermont these days.
     
  18. Rodney221

    Rodney221 Initiate (0) Sep 14, 2014 Virginia

    Breweries tend to be $10-15 in this area, bars around $20, and Growler fills in grocery stores $12-17. I get frequent Grenade fills at a local Kroger of stuff that costs about the same or more in bomber format so I love that ability.
     
  19. Hayden34

    Hayden34 Initiate (0) Aug 10, 2014 Georgia

    I have no idea. I was stationed at Camp Pendleton in the Marine Corps from 2003-2007, so I frequented Stone back in those days but I haven't been back since 2007. I live in Georgia now.
     
  20. grimey68

    grimey68 Initiate (0) Mar 16, 2013 Pennsylvania

    There is a place near me that constantly has growler fills for $19.99.

    I'm always left wondering, what exactly am I missing here when the same six pack sells for $12.99?
     
    miwestcoaster likes this.
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