As a Christmas gift for my BF, I was thinking about getting him this handmade stone growler. It is pretty unique and has great reviews. He is a home brewer and goes around the country to visit different breweries. The only issue with this growler is that is it not marked in any way. I'm concerned it would not meet the requirements to fill, and don't want to get it if he can't use it. Thank you for any help. Link to growler: http://www.uncommongoods.com/product/stoneware-growler
Different states have different regulations about whether a brewery can fill a growler that is not labeled as their own, and sometimes breweries may still not be willing to do it even if a brewery-applied sticker label is permissible under the laws. But I think a bigger question to answer is whether your BF usually buys beer in growlers. Your post says he travels to different breweries, but you don't say that he ever buys beer in growlers. He may be against their use for various reasons (the biggest is that the beer is difficult to keep fresh and carbonated) and may not appreciate your gift.
A lot of breweries only except their own growlers. It was a cool idea, it looks like a nice growler with an air tight seal.
Regardless of whether he can fill it at breweries. If he is a homebrewer and he kegs, it might be a nice gift in that he can tote his brew around. That said - some of the Stainless Steel growlers might be better a preserving the quality of the beer. There have been a couple threads on here talking about the relative merits, etc.
Thanks for all the help. I know he does buy growlers, and normally always has at least one hanging around. I may just decide to go with something else though.
I saw a guy at Kane over the weekend with one of these. It was definitely nice looking, but it's heavy. He said when it's full it's like carrying a bowling ball.
I got two of those growlers last Christmas. They are great; seem to hold the beer colder for a longer time. The problem is that, as of now, almost everyone that does growler fills locally (breweries and stores) will only fill their own growlers (supposedly because of either state or county laws) so they really do not get a whole lot of use. A few places will 'trade' one of your growlers for one of theirs but don't really see the sense in trading a nice $65 growler for some of the ones that are offered.
