I saw in the Duvel buys Firestone thread several folks mentioned they mainly buy beer on sale. Me, too. But, for the last two months I haven’t been able to brew. I moved and am living in an apartment while I wait to move to a new house. Can’t wait to brew again.
So, on to my topic, how much for a growler fill where you live?
Here in Alabama you can fill a growler at a bottle shop and maybe bars (haven’t tried yet). You can’t fill at the brewery tap room. The bottle shops are like bars. You can sit down and drink a pint or two on site. I have filled two growlers so far. The first was $14 (Cigar City Jai Alai), the second $18 (Bell’s Lager Beer)! Both were excellent. That store has about 30 taps. Nothing was less than $14 for 64 oz.
But, in the grocery most 6-packs (72 oz.) of craft beer are $8.99 and up (generally not too much up).
Why are growlers so much more expensive for less beer? I recently told my dad about growler fills. He was thrilled. He said keg beer is better. I don’t know if I agree though. Especially with craft beer in cans I think when it is fresh draft is not that much different. Plus with cans or bottles, there is not a spoilage problem.
Should I expect lower prices when the breweries get in this business? That is illegal in AL for at least another year. But I hope more and more beer stores and bars start selling growler fills so the will price drop.
Last word, when homebrewing I can get beer just how I like it for under a $1 per pint fairly easily. So that has made me cheap.
Last last word, I just bought a GrowlTap (growltap.com). It’s supposed to keep my growler beer fresh. That plus the growler itself has set me back $51. The GrowlTap is touchy, but, I think I like it. One cool thing, the primary co2 injection method is paintball co2 cartridges. But, you can connect to your regulated co2 bottle. Just turn the pressure down to compensate for the short hose and to avoid rupturing the glass.
I haven’t bought a growler in awhile, but my recollection with Goose Island was that they stopped giving you the deposit back. They sold you the growler plus the beer. I have no idea what I’ve paid though so I can’t help out there.
About that in CO. Of course, breweries and liquor stores are the only places to get normal-gravity beer, but as far as I know only breweries can fill growlers to order. Of course, breweries probably outnumber liquor stores at this point, so it isn’t that big an obstacle.
Here in Texas growlers can be filled by bars/stores with beer/wine permits (no liquor) and breweries with brewpub licenses. 64oz. fills are normally $8-10 depending on the beer and location. It’s a little more expensive than a six pack but it only makes sense for getting beers that aren’t available in bottles/cans. Often the beers I get that are offered in a retail package are expensive bombers and it’s actually cheaper to get in growlers.
IMO you’re getting screwed on growler prices. I don’t know if there are laws that make it prohibitively expensive to sell for less but I wouldn’t pay those prices. I would not pay those prices.
We’re are you guys getting growler fills for $8-$10 in TX?! I would say the average price is more 12-14 for 64oz. I don’t do growlers too often, and the high price is one of the reasons.
I agree draft is better. I am OK paying $10 for 2 pints at a bar, but, I get the time at the bar/taproom as part of the bargain. For growlers, the first night’s beer is good. Day 2+ you’re loosing quality (carbonation and maybe oxidation). That’s true even with the GrowlTap I just purchased. The last pint (day 3) was flat.
On the other hand, if planning to drink the growler fast and I can walk out of the store with a 64oz growler for $12-ish I am OK with that.
PS. I took the liberty of editing your quote to say “eliminating O2” rather than “illuminating DO”.
I usually see growler fills for $15 around Denver breweries. To me it’s only worth it if you can’t find it in the liquor store and really like it so I rarely get a fill. It’s cheaper than just buying 4 pints at the brewery but much more expensive than a 6 pack at the LQ. Unfortunately you can only get filled at breweries so only local beers are available.