Was in Alabama the other day visiting family and looking to score some Good People Snake Handler. Tracked down a keg of it at a convenience store in the middle of nowhere and thought I would roll the dice. Took in four 32oz glass swing top growlers. I'm a pretty patient person but things went down hill pretty quick. I knew I wouldn't be getting the beer as I wanted it but I stuck around to see what would happen. Highlights: -10 minute discussion with owners in English and then between them in their language about how many ounces were in my 32oz growler and how close this was to a gallon. -Asked me where I got these fancy growlers from. They normally fill plastic growlers that look like milk jugs. -Poured the beer straight down into the growler giving me half beer and half head. -Told me that the foam would go down and then we could fill the rest of it up. -I was informed that all IPA's pour like this (with lots of head) and that if my growler had been cold it would have helped. -Apparently the head isn't normally a problem because they can just squeeze it out of the plastic containers. -The tap was literally drilled into the side of a soda cooler. -No drains for the beer so the carpet had a nice stain/smell to it. -One employee took a red solo cup, put beer in it and then tried to finish filling the growler. Then was about to wipe the foam off of the top with a bare finger. I stopped the madness put the top on my growler and paid for a half fill. Anyone else had some ridiculous experiences with people filling growlers that didn't have any business doing so?
No, but this sounds like a nice beginning to a Charles Bronson film! Edit: Sounds like they don't know how this growler game works. As soon as I seen the straight pour, I would've done exactly what you did. Pay for half and get out of dodge.
Do you remember where you went? Hop City in downtown Birmingham would have done you right. They are very professional and have 60 beers on tap and currently have the amazing Snake Handler DIPA. My story: At Pensacola Bay Brewing I saw a young bartender begin a customers growler fill and just walk away. Everyone at the bar watched the growler over flow probable 2 times over while she was gone. Fed up, the customer walked around the bar and shut off the tap. The bartender came out of the back still on the phone looking pissed he had walked behind the bar and said to come get her next time.
Maybe that's why in California you can only get growlers of beer from the brewery. Good story. I went to the new Fill station slash restaurant for Coronado Brewery in Imperial beach this week. They filled my 3 year old growler and realized that they didn't have any lids for that particular growler. They then poured that beer into a pitcher and I'm not sure what they ended up doing with it. But they then poured me an entire new growler of beer and gave me a free growler. Talk about a top notch organization. And the fish tacos are great for anyone close to I.B. In San Diego
A place in NYC filled my growler with the wrong beer. Gave me some kind of dubbel rather than a summer wheat beer when it was about 95 out. Obviously way, way off. Denied it when I came back. Poured a sample for us both to try to prove me wrong, again pointed a lame attempt at a Belgian dubbel, said it was the summer ale, then said the keg was mislabeled, denying they had their lines crossed. Then discovered that will you look at that, the line is going to the wrong keg. Told me they could give me a discount the NEXT TIME I came in. Months later I happened by - no way I was going to get a growler - but they decided they'd grant me the honor of buying a BCBCS bomber . For 30 bucks. AFTER I SPENT 100 ON OTHER BEER. I almost knocked all the bottles off the shelf "accidentally" as I laughed my way out the door. Ninth avenue vintners, you've been warned.
You already won the thread at that. I didn't even need to keep reading, though I'm both glad and disappointed that I did.
I had great fish tacos when I was staying in Imperial Beach too! But back on topic I stopped with growlers unless I am going to take a bunch of it to a party where it will be consumed right away or so... but honestly the appeal wore off very fast for me.
Terrible experience. Wish that Mass & RI would allow growler fills from places other than the brewery.
only had one bad time when a brewery would not fill growers I brought even tho they complied with all California's dumb laws.
Off topic but I need to interject with a quick question (mods feel free to delete after I get my answer) What do growlers typically cost at a brewery? I was recently gifted 2 growlers of Castle Danger from my cousin who can't drink - I'd like to return the favor but I need a ballpark dollar figure since I can't hit him back with beer.
There's a huge variation. I've seen fills anywhere from the $7-8 range all the way through the $20s. The glass itself also costs an additional one time charge of anywhere from $3-10. IIRC when I was at Deschutes a few years ago their glass was somewhere in the upper twenties unfilled, but they were quite elaborate growleres.
Depends on what you're getting... I've seen anywhere from 8$ (brewery special trying to dump stuff so they can brew more) up to 28$ (for a bourbon barrel aged stout). Typically I'd say the median is 12-15 $ though, at least in VA
