In some cases, i think it is the law. Scott (the brewer at East End) told me once that his permit required specific text on his growlers, hence he could only refil his own growlers.
Duclaw in baltimore would do the old "slap a new sticker on’, or in some cases would just trade you a new growler.
but for every brewer that has had strict rules, I’ve been to another that would fill any 1/2 gal or 2L growler that you happen to have.
Yeah, but really even if it is a law, that’s not one you’d ever see enforced. How would they prove it? Get that Terrapin growler down to the crime lab and prove that it has Sierra Nevada pale ale in it! I hate stickers that leave a mess, but that’s a lot better than buying exclusive growlers.
Hm. Interesting that you all are “buying” growlers. Round these parts, most places that sell growlers are selling you the beer, and you just pay a deposit on the bottle. When you go in for a refill you hand them the growler and they fill a clean one, not the one you just brought in, and your returned bottle goes for cleaning/sterilization.
Also, I haven’t seen any places other than brew pubs selling growlers, so you can’t get anything that wasn’t brewed by that establishment. No PBR, Sierra Nevada, etc.
This thread is hilarious to me, given what “growler” is sometimes slang for in the UK.
Carry on.
East End now does seltzer water. I think it’s a trend other places are doing as well. Coulda been that.
You would be amazed at the stupidity of PA liquor laws, and at their enforcement. East End recently started carding people. I’m sorry, but if you’re going out of your way to find and then drive to a microbrewery to sample not-cheap beer, don’t you deserve to not be carded? I’m sure its not their fault, I’m sure they were busted/warned in some way. It was terrifically awkward for my newly turned 21 y.o. boyfriend to say “Yes, yes, this Black Strap is very unique and nothing like I’ve ever tasted…”
I had an old friend from college who was originally from New Jersey. I don’t know the specifics of the law, but the gist of it is that when you have a junior driver’s license, you can’t drive people under 18 or 21 with you unless they’re family. So he would be sure only to drive his other Asian friends around. He once was stopped and claimed “she’s my sister and they’re both my cousins…” Either the cop was really stupid or he couldn’t tell (or was afraid to push on) the differences between Koreans and Chinese people.
The lengths people will go to to circumvent silly laws :p.
Do tell.
Not sure where in SoCal you are, but Stone Brewing in Escondido does growlers. They’re pretty serious hopheads there, so all of their brews may not be to your liking, but they’ve usually got so many on tap that you will likely find something up your alley.
Plus, it’s one of the prettiest beer gardens I’ve ever visited.