Does anyone have any insight on how long a full growler will keep as long as the seal isn't broken? I have never messed with it for longer than a day or two, but I had heard of a few people that kept a few seasonals for 1-3 months and had no complaints. I just couldnt believe it. Anyone?
I once kept an unopened growler of a stout for 3 months in my fridge. The beer was still OK. Not as great as on day one, I am sure. What matters is how they filled it: if they kept out air while filling, and the cap makes a good seal, you can keep an unopened, cold growler for quite a while.
I've always been told 3 months. I did talk to a guy who kept KBS in his fridge for a year and still enjoyed it but that wouldn't make it a week in mine.
I just opened one I've had for a couple months and it's fine. Most of the time they will last a week or so at the outside - by my choice, so I don't often go long on commercial ones. I have had homebrews I bottled into growlers a year later with no issues. It does depend on how it's bottled. Capped on foam will last longer than not, and making sure the Growler is clean and sanitized also goes a long way.
Depends on the beer, how it is stored and more importantly how it was filled. If it was filled by a counter pressure machine it should last almost as long as the same beer in a bottle. Second best option would be one that was purged with CO2 before filling. A standard fill from the tap at a bar without CO2 purge or counter pressure...I would drink that within a few days.
We CO2 pressurize our growlers at work. They tend to last about a year with 20psi of CO2 per growler if unopened. Once you open the cap, however, it's about six days. Non-CO2 growlers...four days.
I bought a growler of Half Acre Space of Friday to take to a bottle share and it never happened. I'm hoping it holds up until this coming Saturday.
Thanks everyone.....I dont know how many places in my area are using the co2 on growler fills, but this gives me a great idea. I appreciate all the help. Im thinking Ill only need a couple weeks, so I should be good.
I sat on a growler of space for 9 days before opening. It was still great when I opened. Was it as good as fresh? No idea, I was drunk when I tasted it. But it was awesome none-the-less after 9 days.
I admittedly sat on one way longer than I intended (about 5-6 weeks), but opened it last week and it tasted great and had good carbonation.
I took a growler of Weasel Boy Anastasia that was filled in November to a bottle release at Jackie O's in February. These were the results: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16285/41566/?ba=Spider889 http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16285/41566/?ba=MbpBugeye To be fair, when I bought the growler, it was capped on foam, and I took it home, put it in the fridge, and left it alone until that bottle release. If a growler is kept refrigerated and is sealed well, more than a couple weeks should be no problem. YMMV.
It depends on a lot. What kind of growler, how it was filled, etc. If its those screw on types, and filled from a tap, I wouldn't leave it for more than two days, mostly because they don't seem to hold carbonation well. I usually try to pick styles that hold up at lower carbonation levels for those. If it has one of those rubber seals, should be good longer, and that would depend on how it was filled. The longest I let one of those sit was for a week and was just as good as fresh. Probably could go longer, but who has the patience for that?
Capra12 dropped off a growler of 2008 BCBS at our table on Darkness Day 2012. It was great. So...4 years? Then there's this:
