When you hear the term “growler” used in a brewery or brewpub you don't need to worry about loose animals about, or crotchety old men coming from the closets to get you. Growlers are a half-gallon – or 64 ounce – jug that can be filled with beer from a brewery or brewpub and taken home to enjoy.
The term growler comes from the late 1800s when miners, steel and factory workers would take galvanized pails to the local breweries and have them filled with beer. When they got home and opened the pails, the CO2 released would make a growling noise, and so they have been called growlers since.
The advantage of getting a growler from a brewery or brewpub is that it is an affordable way to bring fresh beer right from the source home to enjoy. Bottles from the liquor store sit in a distributor's storage area and then on the racks in the store for weeks before getting to the consumer. Breweries must package their beer, so their grolwers are typically filled from a freshly filled keg that is poured into the growler from their tap room. Brewpubs can pour directly from the brewing vessel, so typically when they fill a growler it is right from the tank it was brewed in.
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Both methods provide fresh beer to anyone who walks in off the street, but please make note that Minnesota State Law prohibits breweries or brewpubs from filling any grolwer, or other container, that does not have their brewery's logo, address and other mandated information. This means that you must purchase a grolwer from the brewery or brewpub directly, and can only have that growler filled at the same brewery or brewpub which issued you the growler.
Also, some breweries and brewpubs have a lease system for their growlers, so you pay a deposit on the glass and just exchange it out for a new grolwer when you return to refill it. Others have you purchase the glass when you get your first growler and you must clean it before you bring it back because they will refill that same glass for you to take back home with you. So start a collection of growlers or frequent one establishment often, but definitely hop on this Fresh Beer Bandwagon.
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Bellow I will list the two breweries in Stillwater which offer growler sales and information about their availability including times of operation and prices. I will also provide a simple list of other places in the Twin Cities which provide grolwers.
Lift Bridge Brewing Co:
Hours – Thursday and Friday 5-8pm ; Saturday 2-5pm
Prices – First growler starts at $20 and Refills start at $15
Location – 1900 Tower Drive, Stillwater
Stillwater Brewing Co:
Hours – Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 3-8pm ; Friday and Saturday 11am-9pm
Prices – First growler starts at $15 and Refills start at $7
Location – 402 North Main Street, Stillwater
Other grolwer locations:
- St. Croix Brewing Co. (brewery) Contact Tod for information. tod@stcroixbeer.com
- Flat Earth. (brewery) 2035 Benson Ave, St. Paul, MN 55116
- Vine Park Brewing Co. (brewery) 1254 West 7th Street St. Paul, MN 55102
- Great Waters. (brewpub) 426 St. Peter St., St. Paul, MN 55102
- Rock Bottom. (brewpub) 800 LaSalle Plaza, Minneapolis, MN 55402
There are other great locations to get growlers, and this is a small list to get you started. I will add more breweries and brewpubs to the growler list in future posts.
Cheers,
- Zachary Morgan
