The Roar Has Been Restored

Good news from the east metro beer front, courtesy of Lift Bridge Brewery:

Lift Bridge Brewing Co is the first brewery in Stillwater since Prohibition ended. For Minnesota Craft Beer Week we will be selling growlers for the first time. Stop by any evening this week (Tue-Fri) from 5-8 PM to pick up a Suds Barge.

Come get a growler for $5 and a fill of your favorite Lift Bridge Brew:

Farm Girl Saison®: $11/fill

Crosscut Pale Ale®: $11/fill

Chestnut Hill Brown Ale®: $11/fill

Hop Prop IPA®: $15/fill

All prices include tax. Thanks to everyone who has helped us along the way. We are located at 1900 Tower Drive, Stillwater, MN. See you at the brewery!

I stopped by and picked up my growler of Chestnut Hill (rated a robust 16 of 19 by Chad the Elder) this evening and the place was hopping. A steady stream of customers enjoying free tastings right on the brewery floor. And those "tastings," served up by one of the owners of Lift Bridge, consisted of a FULL pint. And you'd like to "taste" each of the four varieties? Not a problem! Plus free popcorn. With tastings like this, who needs a home bar? Heck, who needs a home?

Well, I guess they shut the place down at some point, so don't tear up that mortgage yet. Plus you need a place to store that growler.

Looking into the derivation of the name "growler" turns up this article from the New York Times:

In the late 19th century and the early 20th century, both The New York Times and The Brooklyn Eagle regularly published contentious stories about the containers, which then took the form of small galvanized pails. The articles cataloged the complaints of saloon keepers, who thought growlers cut into their profit, and those of temperance groups, who hoped to curb home drinking.

“Rushing the growler,” connoting children hustling pails of beer for adults from bar to table, was a common expression. The curious name is thought to be inspired by the rumbling noise escaping carbon dioxide made as the beer sloshed about in the pail.

The days of the pail are over, they're now packaged in a 64oz bottle that looks more like a bottle of moonshine from a Ma and Pa Kettle short. I don't expect it to make any noise when I crack it, but I'll keep you posted.