Off-premise Growlers in Alpharetta!

[cyclesmith]

OK, I have to ask: Did any other Top Gear (U.K.) fans see this thread and start laughing?

(Sorry, that's the only other place I'd ever heard the term "growler" before clicking the link in this thread to see what y'all were talking about.)

[MarkEm]

From the Beeradvocate - The Growler: Beer-to-Go!

[Jessamine]

I'm really happy with the growlers from Whole Foods although their choices are of course fewer than the beer specific shops. We've also bought from Hop City, Ale Yeah and the Avondale Beer Growler, and in Charleston, Charleston Beer Exchange, so, I kinda know what I'm talking about. We bought one the first day the Briarcliff Whole Foods offered them, drank two glasses out of it and then forgot about it. About a month later when I was cleaning the fridge I found the growler again (we have a beer fridge aside from regular fridge) and was going to dump it and I got a big "whoosh" when unscrewing the cap. I poured a glass and it was still good!!!! It was Wild Heaven - Ode to Mercy I think. Now, normally, beer in a growler (once opened) won't stay good that long, but I was looking at the cap. It has a plastic nipple protrusion that goes down in to the bottle that makes a seal, and I assume that helped with how long this stayed drinkable. Most growler caps are just the flat metal screw on jobs.

My favorite place for growlers would be Avondale Beer Growler. They have branches in Athens and I think are going to open one in the Suwanee/Buford area soon.

If you want, come check out the Facebook page my hubster and write - Rowdy and Independent Beer Reviews. We try to keep up with at least the Atlanta area beer-related news. We have a "reviews" Wordpress blog too but we're slack and I haven't written one it a while. The blog address is listed in the "info" part of the Facebook page.

[MarkEm]

...but I was looking at the cap. It has a plastic nipple protrusion that goes down in to the bottle that makes a seal...

That's the kind I use on my growlers for homebrew; works as well as mechanically attached metal caps do on standard bottles.

[Thelonius]

I was hitting Crafty Draught quite a bit, but between that and my Taco Mac list I think I could have bought a new bike.

[wojtek]

Gwinnett is growing with growlers:

http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/news/2 ... er-growth/

[GTscoob]

My favorite place for growlers would be Avondale Beer Growler. They have branches in Athens and I think are going to open one in the Suwanee/Buford area soon.

Same and I live around the corner from Ale Yeah. The Beer Growler is opening a location in Alpharetta so for the folks that live up that way, go check it out for a the best beer selection on tap.

Love the growler life, no more bottle recycling just reuse the same bottle over and over again. The carbonation works like a 2 liter bottle of soda, it'll stay bubbly until you open it and the more liquid left and the less the bottle is disturbed, the longer the bubbles will last.

[MrUnderhill]

Just got this in an e-m from Total Wine:

We have installed a state-of-the-art PEGAS® CrafTap system in our Perimeter Square Center store featuring 24 beer taps on which we'll feature local, regional and many other American craft brews. Special-release, Seasonal, and numerous additional tasty selections will be poured fresh for you into your 1L and 64 oz. bottles.

Our PEGAS® CrafTap is a counter-pressure draught beer filling system that displaces the oxygen inside the growler bottle with beer-friendly CO2, prolonging the life of the beer. The beer dispenses down the sides of the bottle, filling it from the bottom up, creating minimal foam. The beer will remain fresh for weeks in your refrigerator before opening vs. just days when filled with a regular tap system. This technology hails from Europe and is now working in Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Finland, Israel, Russia and the United States.

We sell bottles and will fill your existing growler bottles. Fill your growlers with excellent beers at the everyday low Total Wine & More prices you expect!

Please visit our Perimeter location at:
Perimeter Square Center
124 Perimeter Center West
Atlanta, GA 30346

[joelfehrman]

Just got this in an e-m from Total Wine...

I work about 500 feet from that store, and I was in there last week when they were dialing in the system and pouring the first growlers for sale. It's pretty damn cool. There are just six filling stations for the 24 beers. Unique setup. Several big wigs were there to witness it, so I imagine this may be a pilot store for the concept. They don't seem to be doing a good job marketing it. I'm fairly connected to the craft beer scene in town and the only place I saw word of it was the in-store signage.

I didn't get a look at the beer list to see what was available. My personal opinion is that if it's readily available in six-packs or four-packs I'm not going to buy it in a growler. I'm only really interested in beers that are only available on draft or in bombers (the most expensive way to buy beer). I feel that the growler shop concept will be a passing fad with those two exceptions, and unfortunately most of the kegs that meet my criteria are going to end up at bars instead. It would be awesome if I could take a growler home from the bar like you can in Oregon and several other states. Maybe that will be the next step in our relaxation of alcohol laws, but it won't bode well for the growler shops.

[GTscoob]

Our PEGAS® CrafTap is a counter-pressure draught beer filling system that displaces the oxygen inside the growler bottle with beer-friendly CO2, prolonging the life of the beer. The beer dispenses down the sides of the bottle, filling it from the bottom up, creating minimal foam. The beer will remain fresh for weeks in your refrigerator before opening vs. just days when filled with a regular tap system. This technology hails from Europe and is now working in Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Finland, Israel, Russia and the United States.

You still get a few weeks out of a normal pour. Hell I had a growler I filled in Asheville (Lexington Ave Brewery) one time a year back that I had forgotten about for 2-3 months, chilled it, drank it and enjoyed fresh tasting bubbly beer.

Sounds like a good system and maybe the OTP crowd will dig the technology but standard taps with tap extenders so the growler fills from the bottom seem to work great to minimize head and the beer displaces all the CO2 you need in the bottle. Any place with a decent tap system on the backside will have kegs that fill with CO2 rather than outside air.

[joelfehrman]

More options for the perimeter area:

New Moondog opening this weekend - http://blogs.ajc.com/food-and-more/2012 ... d_and_more

JUGS opened last month - http://www.facebook.com/pages/JUGS-Just ... 2253588674

[wojtek]

Really need to try this one:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... %26theater