Growler fills

Get fresh craft from draft at 99 Bottles beer store in clean, dry glass beer growler jugs. Bring your own and pay the beer/fill price, or buy a 32-ounce or 64-ounce jug at 99 Bottles and have it filled. Our PEGAS CrafTap system includes a shot of CO2, so the first time you crack open the growler the beer tastes fresh, as if coming direct from tap.

What's on for growler fills?

99 Bottles has eight draft craft beers, to-go! Two popular Northwest beers are planned to always be on for fills: Mac & Jack's African Amber and Georgetown Manny's Pale Ale. The remaining six spots rotate featuring different breweries, beers, and styles, with a focus on draft-only beers as bottled selections are already within your reach.

For immediate notification of freshly tapped kegs for growler fills, follow us on twitter @99BottlesOnTap. As time permits, we snap a photo fo the "What's On Tap for Growler Fills" whiteboard and post it to Facebook and Flickr, as shown below.

www.flickr.com

How recent is this photo? For the date & time, position your mouse over or click the white board photo.

Warning Growlers are filled under pressure. As a result, glass growler jugs are susceptible to damage during the fill process. Should your jug break during fill, 99 Bottles will replace it with a new 99 Bottles branded 64-ounce or 32-ounce growler jug. Present special jugs for fill at your own risk.

Growler fill FAQs

What types of jugs do you fill?

99 Bottles fills clean, dry glass growlers intended for beer! This includes clear and amber glass 32-ounce EZ swing-top and Boston round growlers, 64-ounce screw-top beer growlers, 2L Palla growlers, and 2L German-style growlers, as pictured below.

Why don't you fill other containers?

We don't fill pourous plastic or cardboard containers that can harbor bacteria, cornies or party pigs as kegs are not growlers, dark vessels that you can't see if it's clean or watch the fill process, and glass receptacles that aren't tempered for a blast of carbon dioxide (CO2). For more info, check out Growler Fills at 99 Bottles.

Will you wash my jug?

No. Be sure to clean and dry your growler in advance. 99 Bottles doesn't fill wet, dirty growlers. For more info, check out Growler Fills at 99 Bottles.

Why must the growler be clean and dry?

Our focus is on fresh, delicious product and we hope to get other craft beer drinkers thinking the same way! The makers of the Growler Collar say it well, "No craft brewery wants their favorite suds to blend with the bacteria and other funk that thrives in a moist, warm growler for a few days between fill-ups."

Clean and dry confirms that the growler is sanitary and ready for craft beer fill. When a clean, wet growler is sealed and not allowed to dry, bacteria start funking up the jug. Thus, make sure your growler is thoroughly dry before sealing. Though this may sound like common sense, every week someone presents smelly bacteria-harboring jugs to us for fills. In fact, we've even been presented with mold-filled jugs for fills! Please make sure your growler is clean and dry prior to bringing them in for fresh craft beer fills. Save us — and you — the embarrassment of fill refusal.

How much does it cost?

Cost of fill depends on which beer is on tap. The fill price is color-coded on the whiteboard. Red always indicates $5 for 32-ounce fill or $10 for 64-ounce fill (plus tax). Other colors are indicated on the board.

If you bring a clean, dry glass growler, you pay the price of the beer fill + tax.

If you don't have a growler or if yours is not clean, simply add on the cost of the growler; 99 Bottles branded jugs are available for $7 (64-ounce screw top) or $6 (32-ounce swing-top). Thus, your cost would be: growler jug price + beer fill + tax.

Is there a jug deposit?

No. Any growler jugs you buy are yours. Thus, there is no deposit.

What are the growler fill hours?

The growler fill station closes at 15 minutes to the closing hour. If you would like growlers filled, be sure to arrive at least 20 minutes prior to closing or earlier.

How long will the beer remain fresh?

When kept under refrigeration, the beer in your sealed growler should have a shelf life of at least three weeks. The shots of carbon dioxide (CO2) at beginning and end of the fill process gives the growler-filled beer this extra-long shelf-life.

Once you crack open the growler oxygen begins to interact with the beer, causing loss of carbonation and oxidation, so serve it immediately. If you don't mind decreased carbonation, some folks have reported life of one to three days on opened growlers.

How do I order a growler?

Upon arrival at 99 Bottles, step up to the "ORDER GROWLERS" counterside. After reviewing the whiteboard, let us know which beer you'd like for fills, and which size growler you want to buy — or present your clean, dry glass growler. We'll have you write your name on a growler ID slip. Shop or browse while we fill.

Note: Growler fill orders made at checkout will require additional wait time for the person placing the order. We will checkout all other orders before resuming fills, so last-minute decisions for fills won't backup the line for others.

Can I taste what's on tap?

Not yet. Soon there will be a "Growler Taste Card" available to those wanting to try before they buy growler fills. However, as there are tasting laws we must be in compliance with and extra manpower will be needed for pouring, we'll make the card available after all reviews are complete and staffing is in place.

Can I call in to have growlers pre-filled?

Sorry, no. You must come in to order and purchase the growler as state law clearly states that "growlers must be filled at time of sale."

Tell me about your growler fill stations.

99 Bottles has two Pegas® CrafTap systems for filling growlers. We have four channels on each CrafTap; each tower is connected to four kegs. If the fill requires a change of the dial, we give it a quick purge into our growler. Next we position your growler in the CrafTap, give a shot of carbon dioxide (CO2), start and control the fill (speed/foam), and give it another shot of CO2. Finally, we depressurize, remove and seal the growler. A seal is applied so you're legal to travel with your growler in-car, so there's no need to worry about open container laws.

Watch the CrafTap in action:

I thought the fillers would be faster.

Using the CrafTap system for fills isn't about speeding up the process of filling growlers.

It's about keeping the beer fresher, longer. Traditional pub fills include no counter-pressure; there's no additional carbon dioxide (CO2) added during the fill. Thus, oxidation immediately begins to take hold, resulting in typical (unopened) shelf life of around three days. Filled with the CrafTap, sealed beer remains viable for four weeks — or longer! This allows you to plan ahead for gatherings and parties, stopping in for growler fills days-to-weeks in advance.

It's also about wasting less beer. The CrafTap prevents excess foaming, so less beer is wasted during the fill. There's no need to wait for foam to settle for a top-off. However, with four beers per fill station, so there may be some wait time for growler fill, with other fills ahead of yours. (Our busiest fill time is the after-work drive hour, plus periodic opening rushes.) Beers 1, 2, 3, 4 are on the left fill station; beers 5, 6, 7, 8 are on the right fill station.