There is nothing like fresh-from-the-tap taste. So it’s no surprise that beer drinkers have longed for a way to take tap beer home with them. The first solution was the growler – a 64-ounce glass container that made craft beers portable. However, the growler has some limitations that made micro-brew aficionados ask for more. Enter the crowler – a 32-ounce aluminum that can be filled and sealed at the tap. Customers have a fresh-from-the-tap taste with all the convenience of a traditional six-pack can.
As crowlers quickly took over the craft brewing industry, Julie and Dave Pendleton, owners of Dick’s Brewing Company, immediately saw the worth of the product for their own customers.
“I had seen crowlers around at different breweries and loved the idea right away,” says Dave. Julie was excited about the idea because she knew it was something the customers would love.
Crowler Benefits
Dave and Julie say there are a lot of advantages to the crowler, over a growler.
- Cans are not breakable like glass growlers.
- Crowlers are easy to recycle.
- Beer stays fresher longer because the process removes the air. With growlers, beer is only fresh for a day or two before it starts to oxidize. You can still drink it, but it starts to go flat and the flavor changes.
- Crowlers are easy to pack.
- A crowler is a smaller size making it better for an individual to consume. And, since it’s less beer, it can be consumed quicker so you won’t have wasted beer.
Julie and Dave take crowlers camping because they are so convenient. “With the larger cans we just open one and share it,” she says. “We don’t have to worry about breaking glass at the campsite accidently or packing the empties carefully so they don’t break on the trip home.”
Going on a plane? Machine-sealed aluminum cans do not leak on planes – great news for tourists wanting to take back a taste of the Pacific Northwest or for delivering a gift to out-of-town relatives. “Because it’s a can, it’s so much easier to take anywhere,” says Dave. “Our customers are very active and the machine allows them to take our beers with them hiking, camping, boating – whatever it is they like to do.”
The taste is another big perk to buying beer in crowlers. “I don’t particularly care for beer in the can because it tastes funny to me,” says Julie. “With the crowler, because it’s fresh beer off the tap and hasn’t been sitting in the can long, you don’t notice that aluminum taste.” While canned beer at the store is just as convenient, you do not know how long it has been in the can, sitting on a warm shelf.
Bring Home the Specialty Brews
For Dick’s Brewing Company fans, one of the biggest advantages to their new crowler machine, however, is getting a chance to take home those specialty, small-batch beers that are never bottled. “We offer several beers that are fresh-on-tap at Northwest Sausage & Deli and the Brewery Tasting Room that customers could only get there,” says Julie. “Now, with the crowlers at the brewery, it gives us another avenue for getting our products to the consumer.”
Dick’s Brewing Company’s new crowlers will have special labeling. Be one of the first to fill a crowler with your favorite beer at the Crowler Release Party on Friday, September 1 from 3:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Then, on September 16, come to Dick’s Brewing Company for their annual Cornhole Tournament and Sausage Fest. The event takes place from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Cost is $20 per two-person team with pre-registration or $30 when signing up on the event date. Proceeds will benefit Centralia Community Foundation. For more information visit the Dick’s Brewing Company website and follow on Facebook.
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