One of the coolest kids in the craft beer world right now is the growler. Growlers are refillable, half-gallon jugs that beer enthusiasts can bring to their local brewery anytime they need more brew (though some other places, like Whole Foods and even some Duane Reade’s in New York, have growler filling stations now as well).
The idea of growlers is not new – people have been filling random bottles/buckets/jugs/pails for more than a hundred years to transport beer. However, the modern day growler concept comes from Charlie Otto, co-founder of Otto Brothers Brewery in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He wanted to offer beer-to-go for customers, but wasn’t able to start bottling his product yet. Charlie’s dad brought up the growlers from his younger days that resembled moonshine jugs, Charlie put his own twist on them and… ta-da. We’ve got growlers.
More and more breweries are realizing that this is the way to go because it’s cost effective (for brewery and customer) and beer fresh from the tap always tastes better than the bottled stuff.
Now that growlers are really catching on, lots of breweries are beginning to get a little creative and put cool designs on the bottles. These are a few of our favorites:
Dru Bru in Seattle, Washington (this is a 32oz mini growler)
The Bruery in Placentia, California
Portland Growler Co., Portland, Oregon
We will undoubtedly see more cool things from the growler world. Are you a growler groupie? Tell us why.