Growlers: a sidenote within a subculture

The Growler
(or 'flaggin' as my British co-worker refers to.)

My wife and I recently moved into a new rental and I found a growler in the fridge. This prime piece of real estate (the growler I mean) was the excuse I was looking for to get started in the world of growler refills. Over the past few years I have become increasingly dependent and trusting on bottled beer. Getting excited about beers on draft seemed amateurish to me; there were just too many variables with draft that I did not want to deal with. Buying draft was something you did because the bar had a special on it.

I knew that growlers were popular to collect and refill. Someone, in my mind, who was religious about getting a growler filled probably was more into growler culture than they were beer culture. Novelty and inconvenience came together and I decided I was not interested. Given the choice between Sierra Nevada Pale on draft and in a bottle, I would always choose the bottle for taking home.

Since a couple of years ago in Nashville the local beer scene has exploded and growlers have become a convenient medium to support local business. Many young breweries cannot afford to bottle which limits their availability to bars and consumption at the brewery. With a strong undercurrent of growler buyers and a renewed interest in buying local smalltime breweries can distribute to a wider audience.

I have been to Craft Brewed and Woody's in Franklin so far to get my new growler refilled. I have gotten the beer to last a couple of days and I have not found myself rushed to finish the beer before it expires. The average size of a growler is $10 and Craft Brewed offers a wide selection and a free growler with the first fill. Woody's has a better price on refills 8$ and allows you to drink the beer on their porch--they also keep at least two local beers on tap at a time. Craft Brewed cannot by law allow customers to drink out of growlers on premise in their beautiful new beer-garden and deck. They can sell you a pint and you can drink that on premise.

I had mine filled at Craft Brewed with Jackalope Rompo Red (pictured above) and am currently very pleased.

In Tennessee you can get fined for an open container in your car. I err on the side of caution and have the business wrap my growler in tape or with a sign and a receipt and just take it home in the back-seat or in the trunk.

A full growler is a great house warming gift and a good size for parties or a casual get-together. I look forward to more refills and taking more local beers home to be enjoyed with a book or with friends.

--AS