How does Kuhnhenn fill their growlers, do they bottom fill? The reason why I ask is a co-worker stopped there today for lunch, he picked up a growler of Creme Brulee Java Stout and will deliver the growler when he visits me in Wisconsin on Tuesday. Also, what are the feelings about aging/cellaring a growler from Kuhnhenn? Thanks for any input.
1. Don't age a coffee beer 2. Don't age that specific coffee beer, it can get very bad 3. Don't age growlers in general (except counter-pressure fills)
They 'bottom' fill from a tube right off the tap and cap on foam. They heat wrap a plastic seal which I would tear off, crank the cap tight and then tape and you should be ready to rock on Tuesday. I'd drink that fresh given what it is to avoid fading of the nice coffee flavor. Drinking one now myself ...cheers!
Definitely crank that cap. They have a wuss outting those caps on. I have a great trading partner that sends me growlers every so often and they do tend to leak a bit. Has yet to affect the quality of the beer but I'd give it a good twist just because.
You'll want to drink that right away because it's fucking delicious. Do not wait. I recently shipped a growler of DRIPA for MI to NC without cap tightening and retaping and it was fine, but it wouldn't hurt to follow the advice above
I aged (somewhat accidentally) a growler of the Creme Brulee Java Stout for about three months, and when I opened it it was still drinking damn fine. However, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I was shocked it held up as well as it did. Enjoy!
Agree with you in general here - particularly when considering a coffee beer - but with regards to your 3rd point, I aged a growler of Haymarket Bourbon Barrel Indignant for about 9 months (in the fridge) with absolutely NO issues whatsoever (and Haymarket, for some reason, doesn't even use a tube to fill growlers - they just fill them right out of the tap) - buddy of mine aged a growler of BCS for over a year - same story. Both beers were still fantastic IMO. Obviously, depending on the beer, YMMV...
