How long will a growler last?

Northern Brewer General
1

So, if I fill a growler from my tap, how long will it last? I’ll follow the generally-accepted good practices to minimize foam, including turning down the regulator and venting most/all of the headspace prior to pouring to minimize foaming.

I’ve only got room for 4 kegs to be connected to CO2 in the freezer, and one is near empty. I have a 5th keg that is under minimal pressure and is newly full! I’d ideally like to “dump” the near-empty keg into growlers, but I’d like them to last until a scheduled party December 4th (can’t take them on airplanes!). They’d be sitting in the fridge/freezer, at 40 degrees or so, for the two-week span.

Thoughts?

Alternatively, I suppose I could just give them away, or drink them upon my return…

EDIT: On a side note, how “secure” is a full keg with about 1 hour of pressurizing at 20 psi at 60 degrees? Could I stick it in the fridge and would it likely stay sealed for a week?

2

growlers usually last for only a day or two.
when i seal kegs i pressure them at around 30 lbs for about 5 minutes and then stick them in the cooler, they sit there until i can tap them.if its more than a month then i will pull them and give them a blast just to top them off cause the co2 will absorb and tend to reduce the pressure.

3

Depends in the type of growler. For the screw top kind a day or two tops. The flip top kind I have had them go three days, with my English beers a little longer since I like them low carbed. I left one in the fridg once half full once for about three weeks. It still had some carb but oxidation had started to take its toll.

4

Use 2L PET bottles and make sure you cap on foam and they’re good for months.

5

Try cooling the growler first by sticking in the fridge or freezer for a while and shove a piece of vinyl tubing in the tap long enough to reach the bottom. Might need to cut a small “V” in it so it will fit. That helps prevent some of the foaming that releases your carbonation. Also as said fill it as much as possible and quickly put on the top.

Like Shadetree I often use 2L PET bottles. Plain seltzer bottles work since they are designed for carbonated liquids and seltzer has no flavor to impart. They are also unbreakable.

6

Seems like a magical difference between 2L PET and a 2L flip top growler… or am I missing something else?

7

Seems like a magical difference between 2L PET and a 2L flip top growler… or am I missing something else?[/quote]The only way I can get mine to go that long is with one of these http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/the-carbonator.html squeeze out any air then blast CO2 in. You can make home made ones with a tire valve and air chuck also.

8

Seems like a magical difference between 2L PET and a 2L flip top growler… or am I missing something else?[/quote]The only way I can get mine to go that long is with one of these http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/the-carbonator.html squeeze out any air then blast CO2 in. You can make home made ones with a tire valve and air chuck also.[/quote]

Doh. Not going to happen before holiday travel. If Speed is correct, then squeezing a little more CO2 into my newly full keg will let it keep, well-sealed, until I return. That seems like an easy solution.

9

I have made a few big beers that I am aging in the kegs at room temps. I have pumped in 30 psi of Co2 and just left alone. Every now and then I do a real quick pull of the release valve to make sure it is still pressurized and have had no issues.

10

It is weird that a growler will only last about 3 days and grolsch (sp) type bottles will last much longer? Both with the same type of rubber seals?

11

I think you guys are using the wrong caps on your growlers. The black plastic caps with the nylon conical insert suck. The cheap white caps with the styrofoam gasket suck. My caps are white painted and they have a very nice seal where the glass meets the cap. It appears to be an elastomeric material. I have done what the OP wants to do for more than a week (sometimes a month) with no issues. Also, I have big beers which I have growler conditioned more than a year ago that still seal perfectly. I plan on keeping them at least another year before opening.

I also have a big swing top 2L growler from Deschutes Brewery (Bend, OR) which seals very well. I don’t use it so often though because it is too tall to fit in my fridge.

12

[quote=“MullerBrau”]I think you guys are using the wrong caps on your growlers. My caps are white painted and they have a very nice seal where the glass meets the cap. It appears to be an elastomeric material. I have done what the OP wants to do for more than a week (sometimes a month) with no issues.
I also have a big swing top 2L growler from Deschutes Brewery (Bend, OR) which seals very well. I don’t use it so often though because it is too tall to fit in my fridge.[/quote]

+1

I often times will empty the last 2 gallons of a keg into growlers to make more room. Un-opened the growlers last a long time with no issues, at least a month. I would expect that they would keep longer, but I usually have them all drank by that time. I just make sure the cap is good and tight and keep the growlers cold.

This works with that standard 64oz growler with the caps MullerBrau refered to. Also works with the 2 liter swing tops like NB sells, and my homemade 2.25L giant beer bottle growlers.
[attachment=0]Giant Beer Bottle Growler.jpg[/attachment]

13

I have also found that not all growler caps are created equally. The black plastic ones with th nylon conical insert always leave me with flat beer. I have some cheap black ones with a seal that looks similar to the normal crown caps and they seal great. I bottle condition in growlers with them all the time and they work great. I have also filled a growler from a keg as to OP is asking with these caps and it has kept for weeks, possibly longer but I’m not that patient.