Next week I am going to be bottling a brew and I wanted to know if anyone has had any experience in putting some of the batch into a growler. I have some that I have brought home from local breweries with a twist top…would those suffice?
Even if that does work…could I carbonate in one? Would I change anything during the bottling process or just fill a growler instead of a bottle?
I have heard that growlers cannot withstand the pressures of natural carbonation and might break. I don’t know if it’s true, but I’d be careful.
I always fill at least a growler of two from every batch I make when bottling. I have never had a growler break from pressure when carbonating. I must warn you though that not all growler caps are created equally and some do not seal well leaving you with flat beer. What kind of caps do you have for your growlers?
if you plan on drinking it quickly it should be fine, but dot sure about the strength of them. I have done it in the past
I prime in the keg then rack some into 2 liter and regular beer bottles (of course sanitized and rinsed) for some portable brews and competitions. I just pour into growlers for club meetings and events.
I’ve bottle aged in a growler once and had no problems with breakage or carbonation.
I have even gone as far as to put a big beer like a RIS into growlers and let them condition for more than a year now without issues. The biggest item of value is the cap. Make sure it is a quality white cap with the elastomeric seal under the cap. No foam insert, no black plastic cap with nylon conical insert under cap. They all leak.
Alright…I have to check the type of cap I have on the growlers I have at home…but if I have a good one…how much head room should I leave in the growler to give the beer enough room to condition? The whole neck of the growler? (standard size)
Yup, to the 64 oz mark if you have one or else leave it a few inches from the top.
Hereis a pic of the only good growler caps I have used with continued success.
the picture is extremely helpful…thanks!
I have found with those growler caps that they seal better if you put them in a bowl/glass and pour boiling water on them, let them sit for a few minutes and then put them on while they are warm/hot. It seems to make the stuff inside the cap softer and conforms to the top of the growler. Kinda like when canning vegetables, the stuff in the lid feels like the same stuff.
73
JW
