I bought a jug of beer. How long will it stay good.

[Johnny_Bravo]

@Grrr

Oh, okay. She did connect some sort of tube on the tap and then stuck the tube into the bottle. I thought she just did that to prevent foam. But I guess there was more to it than just that.

Nope, there wasn’t, except that she might have lowered the psi before pouring (unlikely).

You know how you tip a glass to get a good pour of beer? The tube does the same thing, but extra carefully for a growler. The less C02 you lose during the pour (foam) the longer your growler will last.

The only way you’re going to get more than a couple guaranteed days out of a growler is if it’s filled with specialized machinery. If you saw it done at the tap, anything more than that is a gift.

Sidenote: I have started to see double-walled growlers that you can inject your own C02 into! That would let you maintain freshness for a lot longer, not to mention temperature.

[bump]

In my experience, it’s about 2 days before the beer goes noticeably flat in a growler. If you have something that’s already fairly minimally carbonated, like a lot of British styles, you can go longer, but past about 3 days, and you start noticing taste differences due to oxidation and just being opened.

Your average growler is 64 oz, I think, which is only 4 real pints, or a little more than 5 12oz cans/bottles of beer. One evening’s worth for 2 people, or a lot for one person, or 2 nights for one person at a moderate rate of consumption. I haven’t had to worry about going past 2 days yet.

[Johnny_Bravo]

Basically, don’t think of your growler of beer as a non-perishable food item. Think of it like a bag of fresh pastries from a local bakery. A delicious treat that should be consumed with friends and with expedience, because failing to do the one invites gluttony and failing to do the other risks disappointment.

Flip it, though, and you’re going to have a lovely (if lonely) evening.

[phreesh]

@Johnny_Bravo

Basically, don’t think of your growler of beer as a non-perishable food item. Think of it like a bag of fresh pastries from a local bakery.

I like this analogy. Could you eat a stale croissant? Sure.

Is it as good the next day? Nope.

Air is death to beer. It just takes a couple of days to make it noticeably worse, even for a non-beer snob like me.

[Dallas_Jones]

Saving beer.

We understand the meaning of your words, but the concept is an idea that is very new to us.

[Gatopescado]

I feel a disturbance in The Force.

[DSeid]

Someone named Grrr! has to ask about growlers? Really?

I defer to the expertise already opined: if it aint already not good enough have a friend over and have a few.

[River_Hippie]

Buy a fresh one and mix them in a frosty mug!

[Leonard]

A growler can be filled and sealed to last a long time, but it has to be done right. You’ve got to minimize the oxygen in the top of it by either purging out with a CO2 hose right before capping or by filling it to the point that bubbles are coming out the top and capping it on foam. The contents of the bubbles is CO2 so you only get what little bit of oxygen was in the cap. I’ve saved growlers for months before. But after you open it and drink some, then yea maybe a day so. Depends on the style, too. Porters, stouts, old/strong ales, and some Belgians will make it longer, just as they will age well for years if they’re unopened.