I had not heard or read the origin of the term ‘growler’ so when I saw it on the card below, I thought I’d share.
Cool. Thanks for sharing. My grandfather told stories about bringing home buckets of beer from the bar in his small mining town in northern NY. Never knew about the origin of the term, though.
Another story is that kids going to get the pail filled often hitched a ride on the back of a passing carriage. Supposedly, the carriage made a growling sound. Also, the buckets were supposedly often coated with butter to prevent the beer from forming a head, since they were charged by the pail.
I’d always wondered why that term. Thanks.
The theory I heard is of two bird hunters talking about beer. One suggests having his son fetch it for him, but the other hunter replies that he’d probably not be able to get the beer away from his son. "Oh, he a growler, eh? "
There’s pointers and setters and retrievers. A retriever that refuses to let you have the bird is a growler.
Seems as likely as any other I’ve heard.
The story from the OP is the one I have always heard from way back. It’s also the one that make’s the most sense.
Seems like a case for Myth Busters. I’d like to hear the growling beer bucket, or see the modification needed to get it to growl.
Or it is the sound the foreman makes, when he discovers you drank a bucket of beer for lunch. ;D
I thought it came from the sound a bartender makes when you ask them to fill it.
Here’s another brewery that tells pretty much the same story.
This sounds like something for Snopes to investigate.
I have always thought it amazing when I hear how much people purportedly drank back in the day. This explains, for example, why so many people died during various construction projects. Can you imagine drinking even a small bucket of beer and then resuming work on the Empire State Building?
I would have to drink a very large bucket of beer just to consider getting up there.
My wife’s grandfather worked at a brewery in Pittsburgh in the 20s-30s. They were apparently allowed to drink up to 2 cases a day.
Empire State Building - 5 deaths
Golden Gate Bridge - 11 deaths, 10 in one incident when a support structure failed
Even into the early 90s, I had relatives who worked at the AB brewery in St. Louis and they were able to bring home a case or two a day. I doubt they were allowed to drink on the job at a brewery that size, but when there’s that much beer going around…
Holy crap.
The AB distributor here in Des Moines allows every employee to take home what they can carry in one trip. without dropping any, each Friday. The run delivery drivers can carry a lot of cases in one trip when motivated. 8^)
Paul
A brewery in the 20’s? Underground?
Nope, it was Iron City (or was that beer name?). I could be off on the date, of course. Seems like it must have been post-pro, huh?