Now Selling Growlers, at Growlers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Oct. 30, 2013 - PRLog -- It’s official. And it’s no secret. Bars, restaurants, breweries and beer shops in North Carolina can now sell refills for growlers.

This may not be big news in some states, but here in North Carolina, where the law has long stood, it marks the end of an era. Even close-by South Carolina has been able to refill growlers sending many local Charlotteans out of state to make their growler purchases.

Now, every corner bar in NC, with certain stipulations, can offer refillable growlers. Growlers Pourhouse, in Charlotte, is no exception. Chosen as one of Draft Magazine’s “Top 100 Beer Bars” for the last three years, the craft beer bar will now begin selling refillable growlers out the door.

A growler is a 64 ounce vessel used to carry beer. It’s been around since home brewing was the norm during prohibition. Recently, though, growlers have begun to make a huge resurgence with the growth of the craft beer industry.

Jeff Tonidandel, owner of Growlers Pourhouse, says the “growler” is especially useful for new breweries. “There are a lot of new breweries, but bottling and canning lines are very expensive. The keg is the most cost efficient way of getting a new beer to market - and the growler offers a different means of getting that kegged beer into the hands of consumers.”

With the explosion of craft breweries throughout the country - Charlotte not excluded - this offers the city a new revenue stream and a new industry to boast.

For craft beer lovers, the change offers a new way of trying, buying and sharing one’s favorite craft beers - some of which can be quite hard to find in the Queen City.

Tonidandel is a Certified Cicerone (“Sommelier of Beer” as it is often called), and his excitement around the change in law takes a more human tone. In his assessment, he compares a growler to a bottle of wine. “There’s something special when friends pour out of one vessel. Like a bottle of wine, it feels communal. There’s a sharing involved that you cannot achieve when splitting up a six pack.”

A growler can be a conversation piece. It can connote an air of beer knowledge amongst friends, and it can bring one’s favorite beer to one’s favorite company.

Maybe the next time you’re headed to a dinner party, or a tailgate, you’ll leave the bottle of wine at home, and bring a more unpredictable beverage in the form of a growler.

The trend probably won’t take long to catch on in a craft beer heavy city like Charlotte.

About Growlers Pourhouse

Growlers Pourhouse is a craft beer bar owned and operated by Jeff Tonidandel and Paul Manley (with Damian Dining), and located at 3120 N. Davidson Street, Charlotte, NC 28205 just two miles from Uptown Charlotte.

www.growlerspourhouse.com
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