Is A Growler Worth It?

What is a growler? For some reason my mind goes to thinking of a pokemon right away (see growlithe) but, no, it is a fairly popular and reusable vessel for transporting beer. A standard growler can carry around 64 ounces (~1.9 L) of beer (with its little brother, the howler, holding 32 ounces or 984 mL), is made of glass and normally dark brown in colour. But why would anyone ever need such a container if the world of craft beer is very much accustomed to generic bottles and cans? This is a great question and one I think would be interesting to explore.

Over my years in the industry of craft beer (more so the time spent in breweries consuming beer) I have heard my share of opinions on the growler with many good points for and some equally good points against. To be honest it's tough to say for certain whether these jugs as a beer conduit are actually worth it. However, to the right person a growler (or howler) might be the best option if it makes sense. Why and when would it make sense you ask?! I’ll be happy to explain based on my own experience along with some insight from other beer drinkers. 

First, what are some of the pros of using a growler? The biggest one seems to be quite obvious, they can hold almost 2 litres of malt based carbonated joy! It would seem to be that carrying home 1 or 2 growlers as opposed to a box or bag full of assorted cans is a bit, if not way more, convenient. After all a handy dandy growler has a perfect little handle to wrap your finger around and, theoretically, you would only need 2 fingers to slug home 4 litres of beer! (I don’t recommend trying this...I did). Pro number 2, they are economical. Ok, only to a certain extent I guess but for the most part using one bottle repeatedly instead of new bottles/cans every time has its advantages. For example, no pile up of cans/bottles to return for refund, less containers to end up in landfill, and that hard earned deposit money goes towards supporting a local craft brewery of your choice.

Now, on to the subjective cons of the growler. The first negative point I tend to hear is that a jug of beer without a proper seal will immediately start to lose freshness. This is true as, without a good seal, the beer will start to diminish in quality as time passes from leaving the tap. There are those in this world who insist on drinking a beer in its freshest state or bust which are the ones who may scough at the idea of using a growler. Point numero dos, maintenance and storage of a growler can be inconvenient. The fact that a growler holds a lot of beer is the same reason why it takes up much more space. On top of that these jugs are not always the most ergonomically shaped making it a tad tricky for fridge storage, say goodbye to that 2 week old leftover pizza taking up valuable fridge real estate!

So to sum it all up, a growler might be the best option depending on the scenario and beer drinker. An ideal time for a growler would be when it can be consumed quickly by someone who isn’t dead set on supreme freshness. An example here might be taking it to a party or picnic (or your living room for a day in by yourself) to be enjoyed in a short period of time. However, if you are one for maintaining quality and beer preservation over a period of a few days, then maybe a growler might not be your ideal option. So if the debate of a growler ever crosses your mind in the future hopefully these views will assist in your decision making process. Cheers!