I have a confession to make: I LOVE BEER. No shocker to those that know me, but sometimes it’s nice to get some beer that is more unique than what you find in you local convenience store. A beer growler is the the way to get custom brews poured to take home with you to enjoy when you so choose. The Nostalgia Beer Growler is a BEAST of a growler, as you’ll learn soon,as it adds a full CO2 system to the top of the growler.
First off, why is it called a growler? It’s a fun name, but the meaning behind the the term came from the ‘old days’ when people would get beer poured into a container and then put a top on it to take home. They would hurry home as the container would start to ‘growl’ when the carbonation began to exit the container. Better make it home quick to enjoy:)
The Nostalgia Beer Growler is a 64oz beer growler that is double-wall vacuum-insulated to keep your beer cold, up to 24 hours. It also has two tops. The first is the standard plug to get the beer home safely, which works great. Then it has the BEAST topper that includes a full CO2 system to really step your growler game up.
I have to be honest, this is the first growler I’ve ever used, so it also stands to reason it’s the first time I’ve ever used the CO2 system on a growler as well. Hey, you have to start sometime, so I figured the best way was to head down to a local growler filling area and fill’er up! I got it filled with a delicious amber ale and then placed it in the car while I completed some other errands to see how well it kept the beer cold.
Some 3-4 hours later I tapped it with the CO2 system and I’ll say that the beer was still cold, so check there.
The CO2 system took some getting used to and I wasted quite a bit as I learned how to use it.
Here are my tips now that I learned a little more. The more CO2 you use the worse it pours, so follow the PSI recommendations in the manual (as a side note they should etch these on the side of the growler for the different beer types)
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The PSI Recommended amounts are:
Stouts, Porters, Cream Ales and Barley Wines: 3-6 PSI
Brown Ales, Ambers, Reds: 5-10 PSI
IPA’s, Pale Ales, Wheat Beers: 7-12 PSI
Lagers, Pilsners: 12-15 PSI
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I found that around 5 PSI worked the best for the beer I had (I went through most of the container figuring it out!) One of the CO2 cartridges should last for the pouring of a full growler…mine did not in this case, but should on my next go around.
It also has a purge valve, so if you add too much CO2 you can purge it to get it to where it should be. If you add too much it will not pour well and the CO2 container will actually freeze!
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PROS: looks awesome, keeps beer cold, CO2 system
CONS: needs to have the PSI for each beer type etched on the growler
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The Nostalgia Beer Growler was fun to use and something that will come in handy to take to a tailgate to have something different on hand.
