Why did my growler go flat?

The top wasn't on tight enough?
The growler was dirty or soapy?

 

I've had growlers from HF that lasted 2 weeks easy. I over bought and at that time I don't remember a limit, but I had 8. Bad caps I'd suppose, not sealed tight enough would be my only guess, I've seen a few variation on those cheap white caps too, one has a little plastic fitting which cinches up tight as a drum. I like the HF flip caps better they're tight as hell.

 

were they flip top 32 ouncers? sometimes the gaskets on the flip top go bad and can leak co2.

in your case though, probably an improper seal.

i always tighten the caps on my 64's because the bartenders always leave them too loose.

 

Did they leave a little head at the top? If not that could be the problem.

 

My guess is that either it was a bad keg or the top wasn't on tight enough. I long ago got in the habit of tightening the cap again myself when getting growlers. I've kept them for ages with no noticeable loss in carb - including a BB stout that I kept for over a year. (It was fantastic when I finally got around to it.)

 

Nothing kills a growler quicker than a bad seal.
p.s. your growlers are all overfilled.

 

A lot of places I go fill to the brim and I have had no carbonation issues. I would suspect an improper seal.

 

You may want to find a new brewery or have a little chat with them as a brewery should be experts at filling growlers.

 

Sounds like gas leakage from the cap.

 

It does. But your description sounds like a medical condition or a car problem analysis. "Damn, you've got a gas leakage from the cap!" Cheers and sorry about that!

 

I always crank the cap as tight as I can get it when they hand it to me. Most places fill a lot of growlers in the course of a day and some times they don't really tighten them.

 

The plastic coney thing is better than just the flat metal caps. I'm guessing it wasn't tight. Try again and report back!

 

wait I'm confused

is it better to fill a growler all the way to the top or leave some headspace?

 

It has been answered here but something like this can never be said enough...tighten your own caps. This happened to me once with my firs tree growler purchase.

 

Cap on foam is my preference. The foam will go away eventually but it will be CO2 in the headspace and not air. I don't know why but I'm not a fan of when they fill the growler to the top with no foam and cap right on the beer, you don't see bottled beer that looks like that.

 

Finding a new brewery would be a bit extreme over one flat growler, but certainly mention it to the brewery and see what they do about it. Almost certainly a bad seal. Most growlers, be it the flip top or screw on (when they make a proper seal) should last weeks...and probably longer.