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 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?
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 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)
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.