Lots of local excitement over the last coupla weeks: Beer Trappe had a ThreeFloyds tap takeover March 24th that was just fantastic. Boatloads of beer lovers enjoying 3Floyd's awesome brews. Some really interesting selections including several that I hadn't tried! Cimmerian Sabertooth Bezerker really surprised me--y'all know i'm not much for IPA's, but this one really knocked my socks off! Other great selections offered included the renowned Zombie Dust and Gumballhead, but I really enjoyed Space Station Middle Finger and Stack and Stabb.
Shamrock Patchens had a Deschutes tap-takeover to celebrate their further availability in KY? % of their beers on tap, craft beer questions during Monday night Live Team Trivia and t-shirts as additional prizes! :-) Their Zarabanda farmhouse was very tasty, as expected; the Fresh Squeezed IPA was surprisingly tasty. The prizes were nice, but with the large number of taps Shamrock Patchens has, a "tap-takeover" could mebbe consist of a few more beers. Tap takeover implies taking over all the establishment's taps...so Do IT!!! Make sure they have Corny kegs of your best brews, and some imaginative brews that might stretch our definition of beer a bit?
The last of last week's news: tickets are on sale for Alltech's 2nd Annual Lexington Brews & Food Fest. Last year's event was an absolute blast, and I'm sure this year will be even better. At least 50 brewers signed up and 10 local food vendors and local live music. It's being held at Heritage Hall again, so rain or shine or unseasonable weather, it's gonna be great.
In a week or so, I'll be cooking up a second batch of Red Dress Raspberry Wheat. Last year's batch came out to great reviews, but I think I may add some chocolate this year, because who doesn't love chocolate and raspberries, right?
Anyhow, a friend of mine recently discovered the joy of a growler to go, and I thought I should prolly toss up a quick post on how I avoid those nerve-shattering clinks when your growler bumps into something while rolling around on the floor.
Side note: problems with getting beer back home safely aren't anything new, Reflected in the old blues tune Hank Williams covered on Honky Tonkin' "My Bucket's Got a Hole In It," folks have had trouble getting their beer back home long before craft beer became the hipster thing.
The most common method for taking draft beer home these days is called a growler. A Growler is a half-gallon (64 oz) bottle, usually brown glass to prevent light-struck beer, You can purchase a growler at all local microbreweries, many craft beer bars, some liquor stores or even some deli counters. If the trend continues, you'll likely be able to pick up a growler at your local grocery or gas station soon! Most places that sell growler fills will sell you the glass growler, but nearly all are also ok with you bringing your own to have filled.
Many places also sell 32 oz Howlers "half-size growlers" or other sizes; sometime these other options will be plastic, but full-sized growlers are nearly always brown glass bottles. (a few locations have added equipment to sell "Crowlers" -- these are a 32 or 64 oz cans that are sealed on location. pretty damn funky! They do require special equipment to seal, but they are light, less susceptible to breakage and easily recycled. I'm reasonably certain most of the following recommendation will work as well with Crowlers as they do traditional growlers.
One of the best ways to avoid worrying about your growler of lovely liquid gold crashing and cracking on the trip home is to arrive with your own "crash-proof" aluminum growler. I have been very pleased with my Hydro-Flask growler. It's double-walled aluminum, so it won't easily crack and spill all my tasty brew to go, plus the vacuum insulation help keep the brew cold on the trip home!
The downside to this strategy lies mainly in forethought: you pretty much have to be expecting to bring home a growler and remember to toss your fancy aluminum work of insulating art in the back seat before you leave, or clean it thoroughly after use and leave it in the trunk?
Even with a fancy pre-purchased and near unbreakable growler, you've still got to lug the thing around a bit. Unless you snagged a parking space right out front, you're gonna lug this thing around a bit. What you need is a growler-sized can koozie with a strap! When not in use, you can just scrunch this up and leave it in the backseat or trunk or wherever. It has a little padding, to prevent clinking and breakage; but the main advantage is the handy strap to help you carry your growler to the car with fewer opportunities to set it down and break it accidentally. The padding will also help keep it cool on the ride home. You can likely buy these online, but I snagged mine at my local Liquor Barn. They're inexpensive, fold up very compactly so you can keep one in the back of the car, they provide needed insulation to keep your brew cold, and a handy carrying strap to make sure they get to the car safely. If you're like me and like to collect a growler from all your favorite locations, keep one of these in the car!
The next option I'm going to mention can be combined with either or both of the earlier options. The Growler on Board Growler Seat is like a Baby Seat for your beers! It allows you to take several growlers home, with no danger of the klinking together and allowing their contents to soak into the back seat carpets. Growlers in koozies will fit with a little careful snugging, bare growlers fit just as expected. Upright, insulated and kept from the klinking!
Well, both my dedicated readers are now as up-to-date on growler transportation as you possibly could be! Thanks for reading!
