Skip to main content

Crowlers are the Rugged Alternative to Traditional Glass Growlers

crowler
Crowler/Facebook
There are a handful of options for enjoying draft beer at home. You can always create beer yourself using traditional home brewing equipment or one of the new countertop appliances, and then serve it up in a handy kegerator. Or, you can buy a smaller party tap system that utilizes single-use size kegs. But, for most of us, drinking draft beer at home means filling up a growler straight from the tap at the corner bar or brewery.

The growler system is tried and true, but it does have some significant drawbacks. Glass vessels are heavy and easy to break, which limits their functionality when camping, boating or tailgating. Glass growlers also have a relatively short shelf life; the bottles need to be opened within a few days of being filled to avoid the beer going bad due to light leaks or an improper seal.

Related Videos

Leave it to the original superstars of craft beer canning, Oskar Blues Brewery, to create a viable alternative. A few years ago, the Colorado-based brewery teamed up with Ball Corporation to manufacture a device that seals individual, 32-ounce aluminum cans on demand. Thus, the crowler was born. (The name crowler is a simple update on the original word growler, but with a “c” to designate the canned format.) While the original home of the crowler was Oskar Blues, you can now find these devices in hundreds of tap rooms all over the country produced by several different manufacturers.

Cans offer a number of benefits over glass bottles. They completely eliminate light from the equation, meaning your beer will stay fresh longer. Store your crowler in the fridge and you can wait a couple of weeks to drink, if necessary.

They weigh less and are more durable, enabling you to throw them in a backpack or a cooler. Cans are often allowed in places where bottles are not, like beaches. And you’re more than doubling the amount of beer in a traditional can with a 32-ounce crowler. It’s true that you need to drink all of the beer in the crowler after you open it, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Just like with glass growlers, crowlers need to be filled by a professional who knows how to purge the oxygen from the empty can and fill it from the bottom up via a tube. By buying a crowler at your neighborhood brewery, you’re not only getting to drink great craft beer at home, you’re also supporting your local brewers, and that will leave a good taste in your mouth.

Editors' Recommendations

Here’s what drinks pros have learned from Dry January
How do you extend Dry January all year long? We got some advice from the pros
A pair of mocktails.

A new year is upon us and for a lot of people, that means new healthy habits. It might mean a new diet, pre-bedtime sleep ritual, or cutting back on the booze. Often, the plusses of these lifestyle changes are so significant that you hope to continue them well beyond just January.

There are lots of sober curious people looking to take the merits of Dry January all the way through 2023. But it's not easy, especially with our favorite bars back open, friends always looking for an excuse to get out, and some really good cocktails in the mix. So we solicited some advice from drinks industry pros who've done the Dry January thing and learned from it. Here's some of that valuable wisdom, passed on to the new, 2023 version of you.

Read more
The 5 best low-calorie drinks to order at the bar
Low-calorie drinks: Put down the light beer. You're better than that.
Paloma

It's inevitable. With the new year now well underway, most of us will at least be flirting with the idea of getting back into shape after the sugar-filled holiday season. For better or worse, those cookies were delicious, Mom's gravy was silky smooth and decadent, and the mulled wine was flowing. There are plenty of good reasons to clean up our diets come January, whether the goal is to drop a few pounds, or just cleanse our bodies of all of those sugar plums. Some even opt for a Dry January, entirely abstaining from alcohol for the whole of what feels like the coldest, darkest month of the year. If that's your thing, more power to you! We salute you. But for those of us with slightly less willpower who still want to tidy up our systems, there are other, less extreme alternatives.

Simply opting for low-calorie alcoholic drinks is a perfectly reasonable compromise. Instead of a creamy, whipped indulgence with a candy cane rim, maybe just order a vodka soda. A diet gin and tonic sure feels crisp, light, and refreshing after consuming all of Uncle Marv's eggnog. The trick is knowing these healthier alternatives and being prepared when the bartender heads your way.

Read more
These terrific mocktails are perfect for Dry January
Giving your liver a break doesn't have to mean skimping on flavor
5 new mocktails mojito recipe 2

January is a time when some people like to take a month off from drinking to let their livers relax a little. After a holiday season packed with parties, office gatherings, and family get-togethers, a break from the booze makes sense. To make it through any of these festivities, a good, stiff drink is often necessary. The problem is that that drink quickly becomes two. Then there’s a few casual beers, a glass of champagne for the toast, and pretty soon you’re throwing up on your boss' shoes. Come January, our bodies need a break. Cue the mocktails.

If you've been living under a rock, a mocktail is a mixed drink that feels celebratory and special, but doesn't contain any alcohol. They're wonderful for those post-holiday get-togethers when your body needs to mend, for people who don't drink, and for parties with guests of all ages. These are a few of our favorites.
Coconut Cream Mocktini

Read more