By Jinelle D’souza
Beer has been around as an alcoholic beverage since forever. It’s the world’s most popular drink after water and tea (Yes, it beats coffee). So I can say there’s a huge “beer lovin'” population here in India too since Kingfisher (United Breweries Ltd.) hasn’t closed down yet.
I’m sure most of us here, reading this article, are big “beer fans“. And for the large population that we cover, some of us beer lovers can never get enough of it.
Well most of us know the pain when our beer that we brought from Goa, leaked all over the plane, or when our can could not survive the bumpy bus ride home, or simply just goes flat in the fridge.. it happens, even to the best of us…
What if I tell you I have the solution to this problem. And it’s called “Beer Crowler”.
You might be thinking, what’s this beer crowler thing?
Crowler – (CAN + growler). It’s something you will surely wish you had.
A crowler is a large 32oz. can, that can be refilled by any ordinary beer tap line. They can be sealed right back up. So basically, the crowler is like a reusable beer can that can be filled more than once and then sealed by the crowler sealing machine. But the only con is that they can’t be sealed back without the crowler sealing machine.
This trend hasn’t kicked off in India yet as it has in America, that has over 600 machines that are currently being used. There are a number of breweries that offer the option of crowlers as takeaway beers. But not many companies make these beer crowler machines. But I see tremendous potential for this “Alcoholic- innovation” to grow all over the world, not just in India.
Who should be credited for this “Alcoholic-innovation”?
According to many beer drinkers, Oskar Blue’s Brewery is responsible for this new beer revolution and has been canning ever since 2002.
How did they do it?
Oskar Blue’s Brewery worked with Ball Corporation, a manufacturing company that produces machines that seal steel food cans. They made modifications in their existing sealing machine for it to seal the new 32oz. go-to beer cans. Then they started using these cans at their breweries and tap rooms. Then decided to make the crowler machines available for purchase to the other beer makers as well.
Benefits of Beer Crowlers
Two things that beer can’t stand is UV rays and permeating oxygen. Glass bottles can’t prevent light from reaching the beer, neither can stop oxygen from entering through the small gaps in the cap. But there’s a solution! And it’s crowlers! The aluminium packaging helps in keeping the beer fresh for a longer time and maintains the quality by creating a barrier that keeps the oxygen in and lights out. Crowlers can keep the beer fresh for about a month, compared to growlers which only last for 3 days. Crowlers are much easier to pack as they are lighter.
So if you’re that part of the population that cares about the quality of your beer, and it’s freshness, maybe soon you too can opt for the 32oz. babies that can be refilled and sealed with that delicious drink in them that we fondly call Crowlers.
