Poll question: Growler Buying Frequency

I almost never buy growlers. I can only justify the price if it's draft only and even then I usually just drink it at the brewery or bar.

 

I also rarely buy growlers. Most of the time when I do it is because my wife likes a beer we are sharing at a brewery. We will then get some for later. I next to never buy a full growler of something for myself.

 

How about never? Good local breweries, fresh in cans( mostly) 4-10 days old on the shelves. Works for me.

 

I don't buy many growlers, mainly because I don't want to commit to that much beer.

But our stores around here are starting to put filling stations in now, so I now have a growler in the backseat just in case!

 

my local liquor store does crowlers and I tend to purchase them more frequently than I ever did with growlers...their prices are also great compared to the bottled format. I got 32 oz of a 2014 keg of older viscosity the other day for 16.99, 32 oz of morning bell for 8.99 etc...too cheap to pass up despite the fact that I now have to drink 32 oz of older viscosity in one sitting

 

Increased just because a local brewery opened up in the past year and they're mostly draft only with few bottle releases so far, and their beer is dope.

 

Changed only due to a change in location from NY where you could get a growler fill pretty much anywhere to CO where you can only get growler fills at breweries. Gotta say it was nice to be able to get a growler of a seasonal beer that isn't bottled or canned or fresher stuff than was in the coolers. And I kinda miss being able to enjoy quasi-draft beer at home.
Used a 32 oz. size about 90% of the time since I don't like to drink more than that of the same beer in a sitting or a day.

 

My growler/howler buying hasn't really changed, which is what I chose. I do some, but not many. I only get growlers of non-distributed/non packaged beer. No reason otherwise for me to pay the same amount (or often a buck or 2 more) to get a 6 pack of beer that I have a shorter window of time to consume. I can see myself trending toward less though with the amount of packaged options available.

 

Growlers are prbabably 35-40% of my beer intake and that hasn't chanded in years

 

Here in Idaho, Boise especially, growler sales have grown significantly, as have outlets, gas stations, convenience stores, supermarkets. Supermarkets also seem to be priced reasonable. However, my tastes and preference have always been to seek out the new, so I don't necessarily like to drink 64 oz of something all at once. I've switched over to the grunt/howler format (32 oz) for beers that are coming into the area for distribution on keg only. A lot of what we see at the stores is not available in bottles or cans. And Albertson's has a buy 5, get 6th for half price punch card, so I can but 5 average ones, and save the card for when they get something nice and expensive on, for additional savings. These stores are also using the Co2 fills, which last longer after being sealed, and provide you with a fresh cap every time. It's not uncommon for me to have 3-4 grunts in my fridge at any given time....

 

Just a question and not a sarcastic one:

In my store we have 32 draught lines and I would seldom if ever put a beer on the line that is here in a 6pk unless that brewery was in the store and we are offering the beer as samples, then we would run that keg out but at a comparable price to move it off the lines faster. Do places put the same beer on the lines that are lurking all over the store?? Seems redundant to me, buts that just me.

 

Need to do this more. There's a small but decent brewery/restaurant in town, and their beer is quite good. Just so easy to go grab that 12 pack of whatever, especially because it keeps forever.

 

problem here is i'm not a person that stops off at a brewery very often, so not very many at all for me.

 

I never buy 64 oz growlers but I will, maybe, buy two or three of the 32 oz in a year so I guess you could argue that increased availability of the smaller size has increased my purchasing. At the end of the day, however, they remain such a incredibly minor element in my beer purchases/consumption that it simply doesn't matter. I too hate the format, it remains a choice of last resort

 

Mine have deceased so much I'm considering giving all my growlers (save 1 or 2) away on craigslist. I'm typically not at breweries unless it's a "release" of some sort, when they are not filling growlers. I used to fill at a local Whole Foods but the one I live near now either has shelf stuff for fair-ish prices, or "rare" stuff for $25+ a growler (or not filling growlers of that beer). I saw a $54 64oz last time I went, I want to say it was SMS. If you have to charge that much, they shouldn't even bring it in.

I still keep a 32oz in my truck though, occasionally I'll swing by a total wine and fill it if they have something good for a fair price. If Ocelot or Aslin weren't 40 min each way, I'd probably fill quite a bit more often.

 

Stayed the same which is to say that once in a great while, I'll go for a growler fill. I find it much more enjoyable when it's not something I'll get bored of. Sort of a special occasion kind of thing.

 

No change for me. I rarely buy them. In fact, the only 3 I've ever bought were out in Fort Collins when I wanted to bring home beer that was not bottled otherwise. I guess my purchases have declined to zero since then.... My dad usually fills up a growler when we go visit a town about 45 minutes away, but that brewery has since started bottling, so he doesn't buy them anymore.

Really not a huge fan of the format. I don't have anyone who would enjoy sharing a growler of something heavy, or sour, so I'm stuck with all 32/64 ounces, which sounds awesome except it means I'm either going to have one stupid drunk night, or two okay nights, but drinking flat beer.

 

Sorry, my comment may have been off topic. There aren't any stores that fill growlers and sell prepackaged around me (that I know of). I was referring to the cost to fill a growler at local breweries vs. the cost of a pint there, buying a 6-pack there or even buying their 6-pack, bomber, etc. at the store (i.e. 18th Street, Figure 8, Shoreline, Burn 'Em, as well as Chicago breweries).
However, my comment would still hold true depending on what your store is charging for a growler. If it's $12 for 64 oz and I know I can get a 6-pack (72 oz) of a comparable beer (or even the same beer) for $10, I'll do that all day long. Then I can drink it whenever I want and don't have to worry about drinking it within 1-3 days. Just my personal preference.

 

Yeah, and some places around here were only selling howlers for a little and I find that even more ridiculous. I get the concept, but the cost was just ridiculous. The pricing was exactly the same as if I drank a beer there. $4/pint; $8/howler. Again, why am I paying more than if a brewery packaged it and shipped it to a shop? I'm driving to you, bringing my own clean container and paying a premium on the beer. Not cool.