What growlers do we fill?
We will fill 2­liter blank, Palla­style swing top growlers (the same
style as the ones we currently fill), but have no markings that can
be associated with any other brewery. We’ll sell empty, blank
growlers for $10, the same price as our own The Bruery™
branded growlers. You can make our growler, or any other
Palla­style growler into a blank growler that we’ll accept by
removing the screen printing from the growler (instructions below).
The pricing to fill a blank growler will be the same as our branded
growler. Current prices for growler fills can be found on the draft
lists in The Bruery Tasting Room.
Do you allow twist top growlers?
Sorry, we do not. There are several reasons, but the most
important is we believe our growler is a great container for our
beer. The Palla­style growler gives a great seal due to a thick
gasket, that is made of thick, quality brown glass. It's economical,
and using just one growler style helps us ensure that every fill is
as consistent as possible. Aesthetically speaking, we like how our
growler looks and how it represents our brand. We want to
provide the best experience once the beer leaves our door. Twist
top growlers are also slightly smaller than our growler (64 oz. vs.
67.6), so we don’t want to short our customers. Thanks for
understanding.
Why won’t you allow growlers from another brewery that are covered up?
We understand that the most recent interpretation of the law indicates this is a possibility. How
our beer is packaged is important to us ­­ we really care how our bottles look on store shelves, and
we really care how a growler looks when you bring it home. Wrapping black film (or stickers, or
candlewax, or however you want to cover up your growler) doesn’t present our beer in the way
we’d like, can be easily removed, and potentially presents a labeling violation issue if the covering
were to be removed prior to consuming the entire growler. We foresee customers bringing in
growlers that need to be covered up, which will be time intensive. We also feel it is not respectful
to cover up another brewery’s logo, and are concerned about potential hygiene issues (wet
stickers, beer trapped under plastic wrap, etc.). Sorry in advance!
Why don’t you fill any size other than the 2­liter growlers?
At the Tasting Room, we have our pricing set for 2­liter sized growlers and do not currently have
Effective June, 2013. Prices and policy subject to change.
pricing set for different sizes. There are many different sized containers available, and using one
growler type helps assure we are consistent with fills. Also, not all growlers are easily refillable by
us (different opening at the mouth of the bottle, different height, different width, etc.), given the way
our draft system is configured at the Tasting Room. We are fully capable of providing you the best
quality fill with the least amount of beer loss when we fill the 2­liter swing top model as referenced
above.
XYZ brewery [fills screwtop growlers, covers growlers, fills other sizes, etc.],
why don’t you?
Every brewery has the opportunity to come up with their own standards on how they will treat other
growlers, fill sizes, etc. We appreciate other breweries taking a wider stance on this issue, as
they’ll likely take our blank growlers as well. We think that a $10 investment to your growler
collection that can be reused (hopefully widely) is a good and reasonable solution.
Will you ever change these plans?
Perhaps... if the law changes or becomes more clear, we will continue to adapt our policy as well.
Additionally, as the California craft beer culture continues to evolve, we expect to make slight
revisions to this plan as we see fit.
So why do you fill blank growlers while some other breweries do not?
While we don’t intend on speaking on behalf of fellow breweries, we do know that this has taken
time and resources to make this happen. Since this law has only recently been interpreted in this
way, not everyone has had a chance to catch up to the broader awareness regarding this CA
growler policy. The process of switching over can be enduring, since it takes ordering more,
different growlers, numerous internal meetings to decide on the best procedure, designing and
printing new tags, making sure these tags are compliant with the beer name, ABV, brewery
address, disclaimers, and more, and finally, getting these tags approved by the ABC.
How do I make my logo’ed Bruery growler (or another brewery’s growler in the same style)
into a generic, 2­liter Palla­style growler?
First, soak your growler in hot water for 20 minutes. Then, dry and liberally apply acetone (nail
polish remover), let stand for 5 minutes. Apply another round of acetone, and take a new straight
edge razor blade, and scrape away the logo. Third and fourth rounds of acetone may be
necessary, depending on the existing wear on the silk screening.
Effective June, 2013. Prices and policy subject to change.