by Chloe Kain and Kevin Kain

If you’ve ever indicated you were under the legal drinking age when going to a website for a company that sells alcohol, you may have noticed how some pages redirect you elsewhere on the web. Recently, my daughter Chloe has taken an interest in exploring some of these redirects and we thought it would be fun to share some of our favorites. So, I’m very excited to have a co-authored post here. Please click on the brewery names or images below to go to their sites. Enjoy, and let us know some of your favorites not shown here.

Freak Folk Bier, Waterbury, VT

The redirect for Freak Folk Bier’s website takes you to Toys “R” Us, an old chain toy store that had shut down in the United States, but is now making a comeback.

Chloe says: We were very lucky because when we went on the website, we found out that Geoffrey, the store’s mascot, was celebrating his birthday. Geoffrey is a giraffe, and I like giraffes a lot. It’s good to celebrate giraffes because they’re an endangered species.

Kevin says: It’s nice to see Toys “R” Us making a comeback because it was a special place to me when I was a kid. I still remember being excited when my parents took me to the store in Yonkers, NY. It’s cool that Freak Folk is supporting an underdog. Yeah, it’s not a mom and pop, but it’s not Amazon.

Bonn Place Brewery, Bethlehem PA

Anyone who follows Bonn Place’s social media knows they like a good slice. So, it’s no surprise that their redirect takes you to a local pizzeria. In this case, it’s Lehigh Pizza in Bethlehem, PA.

Chloe says: I think it’s pretty cool because they’re like “okay, you can’t have the beer, but at least you can have pizza.” Pizza is life.

Kevin says: I like that they’re having fun, but also supporting a local business. To be honest, I also think it’s effective. If I have the good fortune to make it out to Bonn Place again, I’d definitely like to grab a slice from Lehigh Pizza.

Image source: Bonn Place Instagram page.

Donzoko Brewing Company, Leith, Scotland

Donzoko brings us to another country which has a different legal drinking age than we have in the US. Nonetheless, Chloe is still far from eighteen, so we’re getting redirected to a BBC children’s website called CBeebies.

Chloe says: It’s interesting because Cbeebies is like BBC backward. The website is very fun because there are a lot of games you can play. I think Donzoko just wants kids to have fun.

Kevin says: A lot of websites we came across took us to cartoons and similar kid-friendly sites. I like this one because being from the US, it exposed us to some new programs, but also some of our old favorites like Bluey.

Brouwerij West, San Pedro, CA

Brouwerij West makes use of the classic Rick Roll. You’ve seen it before. It’s been used by many others, but we can’t help but get a smile due to the smooth voice and little shimmy of Rick Astley.

Chloe says: I’m not sure if kids know who Rick Astley is, but I like that they decided to use this because the song is good and there’s great dancing in the video.

Kevin says: I’m sure the Rick Roll gets eye rolls at this point, but I still love it.

Jack’s Abby, Framingham, MA

Jack’s Abby uses an adorable clip from YouTube of a kitten, Pepper, playing with an ostrich egg. Maybe not a winner for all if you don’t like cats, but we do. This is the kind of video that made us both go “awwww.”

Chloe says: I love cats and it’s really funny because ostrich eggs are known for being hard to open and cats are just cats. I especially like when Pepper jumps.

Kevin says: I also like Pepper’s jumping around. Kittens are always going to win me over. However, what really makes this redirect shine for me is the dramatic music. The Benny Hill theme would’ve been good too. Either way, music exponentially enhances the enjoyment of this video.

Wayward Lane Brewing Company, Schoharie, NY

Though Chloe hasn’t really watched The Office before (she’s seen and loved the parkour intro), we were both amused when we saw a Michael Scott redirect on Wayward Lane’s page. In this clip, Michael Scott is expressing his intense frustration after discovering someone he hates has returned to work after previously moving overseas.

Chloe says: I think it’s funny when Mr. Scott is screaming because his eyes are practically popping out of their sockets at the end. I feel sad that I can’t get into the Wayward Lane website. I don’t care though, because I’ve actually been to Wayward Lane, and it’s fun because they have cornhole and chickens. Chickens are fun. So is cornhole.

Kevin says: Yeah, it’s a bummer to get turned away. Maybe not as upsetting as Michael Scott finding out Toby had returned to Dunder Mifflin, but it makes a point.

Kent Falls Brewing Company, Kent, CT

We’re not sure if there’s a background story to this, but we do know that Oprah would have these eventful gift giveaways on her show. In this instance, someone edited a video to make it look like she was unleashing a swarm of bees on her audience.

Chloe says: At first, I got scared, but it was funny when Oprah did that dance.

Kevin says: I have historically not cared for bees. Wasps, really. But anything closely related has always creeped me out. I’m coming around though. However, this video just cracks me up. I love how it depicts Oprah in a demonic way, and again, agree with Chloe that her dancing is hilarious.

Other Half Brewing, Brooklyn, NY

The video for this redirect was a new one for us, and we are both very grateful to Other Half for the introduction. It is our favorite on the list. However, we do have to deduct points because you must click on a bad word to get to the great video.

Chloe says: You on Kazoo has helped us laugh. A lot. My favorite part is when the kid says “special friends” in slow-mo. I also like the remix. I highly recommend it.

Kevin says: This video, and the remix, have been on regular rotation in our house, which has probably annoyed mommy a whole lot. But we can’t help it. We like to have fun, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!

Thanks for reading!! Chloe and Kevin

New York City’s Upper East Side (UES) is overlooked by beer snobs. For years, it has quietly been one of the city’s best beer neighborhoods. That is if you’re not just looking for the hype stuff.*

The UES showcases traditional and modern beer. It’s this mix that makes it shine. And the fact that the neighborhood is somewhat off the NYC beer radar helps create a laid-back, local, and more intimate community. This sentiment is echoed by Andrey Malinin, General Manager Jones Wood Foundry, who tells me “the scene on the UES seems to be much more of a neighborhood vibe.” It’s a great place to put the phone down and forget about checking in a rare Hazy IPA, and instead spend some time eating, drinking and socializing. Here are some places worth checking out.

The Traditional/Restaurants

Several notable restaurants reside in the UES that represent cultures with strong beer traditions. Most have a bar that you can simply go and drink at, but the food at all the places discussed below is excellent. Not surprisingly, the beer goes well with the dishes. Sit. Eat. Drink.

Heidelberg (1648 2nd Avenue)

The upper east corner of the Upper East Side once had a sizeable German population (in this area, 86th Street was referred to as “Sauerkraut Boulevard”). A remnant of that era is found at the iconic Heidelberg. The menu is traditional with standards like wursts, schnitzels and spätzle. Likewise for the beer. Though you can find the trendy Rothaus and popular Andechs (you can even get Berliner Weisse with syrup (mit Schuss), it’s primarily standards like Bitburger, Spaten and Hofbräu.

B.Cafe (240 E 75th Street)

You can get your moules frites and Trappist beer fix at B.Cafe. It’s a Belgian restaurant with all the classic Belgian beers. At one time, there was a pull-down map behind the bar. The bartender would show you where your beer was from and give you a little beer-geography lesson. Sadly, the map has been removed, but the food and beer are still excellent. As with most Belgian bars/restaurants, nearly every beer will be served in a corresponding branded glass. Aside from the classics, a few other not as expected beers include Poperings Hommelbier, Duchesse De Bourgogne, and Hoegaarden served with a splash of frambois.

Bottles and glassware on display at B. Cafe.

A super refreshing glass of Hoegaarden with a splash of framboise at B. Cafe.

Jones Wood Foundry (401 E 76th Street)

The English-style pub the Jones Wood Foundry is one of the few places in New York, heck, in the United States, where you can enjoy a properly served pint of cask ale. That has been made possible, in part, by the select few brewers located in the northeast that have been able to supply good real ale. Their packaged and standard draft beer selection has historically been comprised of the usual suspects (e.g. Fuller’s, Old Speckled Hen, Boddington’s), but that has been expanding. Though I’m not particular, you will mostly find cask ale served without a sparkler here. If you don’t know what that means, click here.

Beyond the bar, the design of the Jones Wood Foundry is pretty cool with little spaces tucked away here and there. And you can find classics like bangers and mash, fish and chips and Scotch eggs.

A pint of traditional English IPA being pulled from a hand pump at the Jones Wood Foundry.

Bohemian Spirit (321 E 73rd Street)

Speaking of great spaces, there’s an abundance of brewerania on display at Bohemian Spirit, a Czech restaurant located within the Czech Republic’s consulate building. Again, standards. Goulash, utopenec, and schnitzel. The beer is also very standard. And very limited. But that’s fine because when you’re here, you don’t really need more than a perfectly poured mug of Pilsner Urquell from a Lukr faucet.

And yeah, they’ve heard of that milk pour all the cool kids talk about, and they’ll pour it for you, but it’s not really a thing here. FWIW, the prior restaurant in this location, Hospoda, was serving Czech lager from Lukr faucets, boasting different pours, way before it was cool.  

A Pilsner Urquell poster at Bohemian Spirit.

A pint of Pilsner Urquell, poured from a Lukr faucet, into a Pilsner Urquell glass and served on a traditional ceramic coaster at Bohemian Spirit.

Some brewerania on display at Bohemian Spirit.

Cafe D’Alsace (1703 2nd Avenue)

Cafe D’Alsace serves excellent brasserie fare, which you may not associate with beer culture. However, they have one of the most impressive beer menus in the city. The restaurant name might imply a German influence, but their beer leans heavily on Belgian/Belgian-style beers and includes one hundred different bottles and cans and a handful of draft selections. You’ll find a lot of the usual Belgian brews, and some more coveted one like Blaugies, Fantome, and 3 Fonteinen. Closer to home there are Belgian-inspired breweries like Allagash and Jester King. It’s not just Belgian-style beer though. You might find Kölsch on tap, a local IPA like Other Half, and others. On my last visit, I paired duck and Riesling-braised sauerkraut with a couple of hoppy saisons by Brasserie Thieriez.

A hoppy saison by Brasserie Thiriez at Cafe D’Alsace.

Schaller & Weber Stube (1652 2nd Avenue)

Though not a real beer destination, the Schaller & Weber Stube is worthy of mention. Situated between the sausage maker’s historic retail location and Heidelberg (see above), this “stube” takes some of Schaller & Weber’s excellent sausages and creates delicious sandwiches. There are always a couple of excellent beers on offer. It’s small and doesn’t have a big beer menu, but if you are craving a fantastic bratwurst and a German beer, this place is a big win. If you’re not a traditionalist, they’ve got options like a buffalo chicken brat.

The traditonal bratwurst served on a pretzel bun at Schaller and Weber Stube.

Irish pubs – The Irish pubs in the UES are worth mentioning. Generally, they’re nothing to write home about, but they’re numerous and embedded in the neighborhood’s culture. If you’re looking for a spot to eat wings and watch a game with a cold one, it’s hard to walk a couple of blocks in this neighborhood without finding an Irish pub to scratch that itch.

One worthy of mention is Ryan’s Daughter at 350 E 85th Street. It’s a beautiful bar and you’ll get a properly served pint there. Dan McLaughlin of the Pony Bar says it has the best Guinness on the Upper East Side.

A perfectly poured pint of Guinness at Ryan’s Daughter.

Contemporary Bars/Pubs

The Pony Bar (1444 1st Avenue)

Pony Bar owner Dan McLaughlin says the neighborhood has come a long way since they opened in 2012. Several people in the industry did not think it was a wise decision to open a beer bar here. Places selling craft beer were limited, and the ones that did had few offerings.  

Ten years later, the Pony Bar is an institution. It’s kinda the perfect New York beer bar. A place for everyone with a warm and welcoming vibe and excellent pub food.

While there’s a great selection of beer, Dan tries to keep the menu accessible. He sees the Pony Bar as a neighborhood pub, recognizing the predominantly residential character of the area. The menu isn’t meant to draw in outsiders, but the welcoming atmosphere is undoubtedly luring.  

You can’t see the sun set from the Upper East Side real good, but you won’t care when you’re having a good time at The Pony Bar.

I love this glass at The Pony Bar.

The Jeffrey (311 East 60th Street)

The Jeffrey speaks to the local sentiment with the message “The Neighborhood Joint” on their website. It’s one of a few establishments under the Beerly Legal Group in NYC. Others include Fool’s Gold, a pub on Houston Street, and Alewife, originally a bar in Long Island City and now a brewery in Sunnyside.  

In addition to a regularly rotating lineup of great beer, The Jeffrey also has excellent cocktails and food. It’s also located near the Roosevelt Island Tramway. I think it’s worth the swipes of your MetroCard for the quick ride over the East River and back if you’ve never done it before.

Treadwell Park (1125 1st Avenue)

Treadwell Park is a sleek and spacious (for Manhattan, at least) beer hall. You can count on a diverse, well-curated beer menu. It’s not excessive, which hopefully means there’s good turnover. The food menu teeters towards elevated pub food. This includes Junior’s Cheesecake on the dessert menu, with house-made Lindeman’s framboise Lambic compote.

Bondurants (303 E 85th Street)

Bondurants is a great neighborhood bar that serves great craft beer. The cozy space has an excellent food menu if you’re hungry, and a notable whiskey menu.

Stores/bars

City Swiggers (320 East 86th Street)

Several beer shops have come and gone over the years in the Upper East Side. Open since 2011, City Swiggers has proven to be enduring. Like many of the other craft beer shops in New York City, City Swiggers allows on-site consumption. The selection is diverse. They’ve got all the hip stuff, but there’s also a great selection of imported traditional styles. You’ll find stuff here that you won’t find in anywhere else in the city. The space (including an excellent collection of glassware on the walls) and atmosphere are welcoming for shopping, drinking, or both. It’s no surprise it has become a lasting staple for the neighborhood.

A small portion of the imported beer selection a City Swiggers. What would you grab?

Craft + Carry (1630 2nd Avenue)

Craft + Carry currently has eight locations in New York City. I appreciate their message on the website, which states “Craft beer fans, not snobs.” The retail/bar hybrid keeps an interesting beer selection, but it’s not a place that gets too particular about details that may be off-putting to general patrons. The sizeable location is accommodating if you’re looking to have a few drinks with friends, or if you’re just grabbing some beer on the go. And it has skeeball.

Craft + Carry’s Upper East Side shop is one of several locations around the city.

*I stuck with the traditional boundaries of the Upper East Side. However, there are several notable beer spots in Harlem, north of 96th Street. Perhaps that’s for a future post.

In response to keg-standing partygoers and dishwashing averse party hosts around the globe, Robert Leo Hulseman invented the Solo Becher, or Solo cup, in the 1970s. This iconic beer cup has permeated discerning beer cultures around the world ever since.

The cup is perfectly designed to receive the inevitable amount of excessive foam that emanates from a finely jostled keg after being rolled from a high schooler’s car to a backyard. This led to the creation of the Instragram-friendly slow pour. Beer geeks love a good faucet, and to achieve this foam, the Solo cup works best with a party pump faucet.

Unbeknownst to many, Solo cups include lines to delineate the varying pour styles, which are particularly fashionable in craft beer circles these days. Starting from the top is the foam pour. Moving down next is the kinda foamy pour. Next is the “I heard if you dip your finger in there with nose grease or ear wax, the foam will go away” pour. Finally, there’s the “bro, it’s all foam! Pump the keg some more” pour.

These lines were inspired by older drinking glasses that had lines for varying purposes, one of them being drinking games. The Solo cup lends itself well to a variety of these, including flip cup and beer pong. Happy April Fool’s Day. Rabbit Rabbit.

Interest in traditional Czech beer culture has been growing outside of its homeland. This is in part due to a general renewed interest in varying lager styles of beer. It has been bolstered by Instagramable pictures of varying pours from Lukr side-pull faucets.

Here in the US, the breweries and bars with attention to detail serve Czech-style beer in a glass style generally found in the Czech Republic. Typically, that means a Tübinger. Yet this certainly isn’t the only glass used, and as their beer culture is evolving, it’s interesting to see glassware choices offered by establishments old and new. Before we get to that, let’s start with a quick recap of the Tübinger.

The Tübinger is a specific handled beer glass with dimples. Its origins go back to the late 1800s in Germany, but it’s a rarity there and it is much more common in the Czech Republic these days. Its design lends itself particularly well to the traditional hladinka pour, which you can see in the beers below. A proper pour will result in the foam ending right around where the dimple portion of the mug begins.

You can read more about the Tübinger here. It’s important to note that this mug is not the same as the British dimple mug and its modern replicas. There’s no need to be snobby about it. It’s just worth knowing that they’re different mugs from different cultures.

Branded Tübinger mugs by the Czech breweries Budějovický Budvar, Únětický pivovar and Vinohradský pivovar. Source: https://www.instagram.com/

In the Czech Republic, breweries like Budějovický Budvar (aka Czechvar in the United States), Únětický pivovar and Vinohradský pivovar have branded Tübingers. Even Pilsner Urquell has one. But Urquell and Budvar also have the luxury of creating proprietary mugs. For younger breweries with fewer resources that feel the impacts more from glass shortages and long production times, alternative styles can be appealing. Especially if they’re breaking from old traditions. More on that later.

Given Urquell’s size and popularity, their mug is one of the most iconic Czech beer glasses (to be clear, Urquell sells a variety of glasses, but the mug pictured below is the most well-known and ubiquitous). While the design is distinctive, it incorporates the elements commonly shared by most Czech beer glasses.

The classic Pilsner Urquell mug being used with a Lukr faucet. Source: Pilsner Urquell.

Typical Czech beer glasses are found in 0.3 (třetinka) to 0.5 (půllitr) liter sizes. They are handled mugs with thick glass, which some note is important to maintaining temperature (others disagree with this sentiment).

The mugs are generally referred to as a "krýgl", though they are sometimes called “sklenice s uchem”, which means “glass with an ear”. Kozel is known for its horned (rohatá) mug. Overall, these glasses work well with the increasingly popular Lukr faucet as noted by Mirek Nekolný, a Pilsner Urquell Master Bartender.

Kozel’s “rohatá”, or horned mug. Source: Pilsner Urquell.

While mugs and side-pull faucets have been around in the Czech Republic for a while, Lukr has only been around since the 1990s. Its unique design, with a ball valve, flow control regulator (compensator), and tap screen, create decadent foam.

According to Nekolný, tumblers (štucs) became popular in the Czech Republic in the 90s. Perhaps the shift back to mugs is due to the rise in popularity of the Lukr faucets and their inherent compatibility with stout-shaped glassware. The reason for this is the shape and length of the faucet, which is inserted into a glass when pouring beer. This is a practice discouraged in other drinking cultures.

Budvar’s new mug, manufactured by Sahm. Source: Budweiser Budvar (Czechvar)

Like Urquell, Budvar sells a variety of drinkware. However, the brewery released a new mug in 2020 (shown above) and has made it a point to highlight it ever since. It’s clearly something that’s important to the company.

Gabriela Kudrnacova, Budvar’s brand manager, says “the glass is one of the most impactful items we possess as it is in direct and natural contact with the customer.”

The new mug is manufactured by Sahm. In addition to the custom drinkware they produce, Sahm also makes several other commonly used glasses embraced by the Czech beer community. Some of these are depicted below.

A selection of glassware produced by Sahm that one might find in a Czech pub. Source: Sahm.

Czech beer culture continues to evolve though, and some are looking outside of their culture for inspiration. Pivovar Matuška is an excellent example. The brewery began in 2009 and makes a variety of beer styles. They do make traditional Czech lager, but they also brew IPA, Stout, Wheat beers, ESB et. al. To accommodate these varying styles, the brewery offers several types of glasses.

An array Pivovar Matuška glassware reflecting its multicultural portfolio. Source: Pivovar Matuška.

More of a traditional Czech-style glass by Pivovar Matuška. Source: Pivovar Matuška.

The range of glasses serves their portfolio well, but the brewery isn’t militant about which should be used for a particular beer. Matuška Managing Director Matěj Šůcha notes “our customers can choose what type of glass they prefer. We are not pedantic in a way that if someone orders a keg of lager and a case of Nonic glasses, we don't tell them they can't do that, but we do offer some info about the glasses so they know what it should be used for.”

Matuška Co-owner and Head Brewer Adam Matuška is also a founder of the brewery Dva Kohouti. This newer venture is in partnership with the Ambiente restaurant group, which is also behind the Lokal tank pub chain and Pult, a craft beer bar.

Dva Kohouti is similar to Matuška in the range of beer styles they make. However, their glassware program differs. Dva Kohouti solely uses the dimple mug that is closer in design to the traditional British dimple mug. In a 2018 Instagram post, the brewery recognizes the mug is in the English style, but notes they find it ideal to serve their variety of beer styles.

Dva Kohouti uses a British-style dimple mug for its Czech and non-Czech style beer. Source: Dva Kohouti.

Opened in 2013, Vinohradský pivovar also follows these beer production trends. When it comes to glassware though, they use the Tübinger for their Czech lager. A shaker pint (aka straight glass) and a Teku glass meets the needs for their other brews.

In addition to their Tübinger shown earlier, Vinohradský pivovar also makes use of the shaker pint (aka the straight glass) and the Teku to serve their range of beers. Source: Vinohradský pivovar.

The recently opened Pult typically offers six lagers on tap and packaged offerings of varying styles from around the world. The bulk of their beer is served in a simple, unbranded panel mug. A stemmed glass is used for their other beer offerings.

This is reflective of one way to deal with the changing nature of Czech beer culture. Though not a tied house and free to serve an array of styles (they notably have both Pilsner Urquell and Budvar on tap, which is uncommon), Pult continues to keep its glassware program streamlined. This is traditional in a sense and has certain efficiencies. It’s in contrast to what you find at a beer bar in Belgium or even the United States.

Amid the thriving Czech beer scene, the Tübinger is still common, and likely will be for some time. Again, many breweries offer this mug with their branding. They’re common in pubs and restaurants, and offer an accepted and reliable alternative for tied pubs that, for example, may be connected to Pilsner Urquell and use their proprietary mug, but offer one or two other beers. Jan Fišera of Únětický pivovar puts it in simple terms, “this type of glass has been tried and tested for us for a long time and we are satisfied with it.”

One last item of note that came up repeatedly in the responses received for this post is glass/serving size. In the past, 0.3 and 0.5L have been common serving sizes. However, 0.4L is rising in popularity as the only serving size for some. Kudrnacova at Budvar notes this is “quite a thing in modern places” and Šůcha at Matuška says “people have gotten accustomed to it quite easily.”

For Dva Kohouti, their British-style dimple mug is a pint, which means when served with a proper amount of foam, consumers receive a 0.4L beer.

This is also the serving size at the famed brewery/restaurant U Fleků. While you can buy a variety of drinkware in differing sizes in their gift shop, they only serve their beer in an unmarked 0.4L Salzburg mug by Sahm.

Support for the 0.4L serving size is not universally accepted though. Fišera notes that many find it one sip too much, or one sip not enough. I see merit to all though and find it best for each establishment to pick whatever meets their needs.

Evelyn and Howard Smith welcomed twin girls, Lorraine and Roberta, into the world on November 14, 1949, at Mount Vernon Hospital in Mount Vernon, New York. One day later, Ruth Kain gave birth to her son, Michael, four years to the day after the birth of her first son.

Over subsequent years, the Smith family would recall how Ruth requested and received beer shortly after giving birth. It was brought to her in a takeout container from a nearby bar. Some might say it was too soon for a drink, but certainly any new mother is entitled to a cold one.    

Later, Michael’s older brother, Vincent, would marry Lorraine and Roberta’s cousin, Patricia (the marriage resulted in the birth of three boys, including one beer blogger). Eventually, the familial connection to the Mount Vernon Hospital maternity ward was made. While the story is cute, what most grabbed my attention was the takeout container.

Of course, most of us are familiar with growlers. And sure, they’ve come in varying forms and materials. But the growler from the late 40s that was described to me is something akin to a cardboard take-out soup container. I had never heard of this before.

A little online sleuthing brought me to the always rewarding JK's Miscellaneous Beer Pages. In particular, this page. Sure enough, there was a period where this type of vessel was used in the US for to-go beer.

A Little Background

The use of growlers in the US seems to have been particularly popular beginning in the 1890s. There are varying stories that explain why the term “growler” is used, and I’m not going to get into that here. However, over the years “growler” has generally referred to a container of varying composition used to take draft beer off-site from a commercial establishment.

In the late 1800s/early 1900s, a growler was often just a pail. It was not uncommon to see people carrying these pails from a bar to private residences or places of work. The saying “rushing the growler” was used to describe this activity, and the people who did it were often referred to as “bucket boys” (“Kesseljunges” to German immigrants).

The Temperance Movement and Growlers

As the Temperance movement was on the rise, growlers became a target, especially as children often rushed the growler for their parents and other adults. Rhetoric like the following from the Michigan Campaign Manual for a Dry State was not uncommon:

“Little children without clothes, without food and without fire cannot compel a maudlin father to stop exchanging his dimes for growlers of beer. But isn’t a great, strong city, founded by a man who wouldn’t cheat an Indian, powerful enough to stop this growler traffic?”

Due to this growing movement, a 1913 edition of the National Bulletin notes the need to find creative ways to dodge the societal resistance to rushing the growler:

“In the old days an ordinary tin pail was the vessel mostly used, and nobody had any qualms of conscience in returning with it filled to overflowing with foaming “suds.” But those days are no more. To rush a “growler” nowadays means that you will be socially ostracized in your neighborhood. There are a dozen and one ways of disguising the “growler.” Among the most popular is “Fanny.” This is a curved receptacle, about eight inches long and three wide, so designed to fit under your coat and not bulge too much…With a “Fanny” under your coat one might meet the clergyman or hold conversation with Mrs. White Ribboner, and neither would imagine that you were taking home a pint.” (note: white ribbons are a symbol of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union.)

Ruth’s Growler

Returning to the vessel used for my grandmother, its origins go back to the pre-prohibition era. A company called Sealright was noted in a 1964 New York Times article for making paper containers for draft beer at least as far back as 1917. The article noted how this product modernized rushing the growler.  

The Sealright containers were cylindrical, paper products that had varying coatings over time. Coatings included wax and plastic.

Sealright didn’t make this product solely for beer, and once prohibition hit, they advertised widely for a variety of other products like ice cream, cottage cheese, and even oysters. As they said, it was “a safe clean way to carry moist foods”.

Cardboard beer containers from the JK's Miscellaneous Beer Pages website.

Though some states were reluctant to allow growlers after Prohibition, their use did spring up again. As shown on the Jess Kidden page, breweries like Pabst, Miller, and Utica Club made use of them. These containers morphed into the shape many now associate with milk cartons. They are still used for beer in Africa where some umqombothi producers use them.

Umqombothi cartons from an article in Taste.

With the ubiquity of packaged beer, growlers began to fade in the 1950s. The tradition was revived later in the century by small craft brewers. Particularly for those that didn’t have the means to produce packaged beer for customers.

My grandmother was a strait-laced, pious Irish-American Catholic. The fact that she was drinking beer in the hospital right after having a baby is a bit surprising for me. But as my dad says, “she liked her beer.” According to him, the beer she drank in the hospital was likely Rheingold or Ballantine.

My grandmother and father, Ruth and Vincent Kain (and I think my other grandparents in the background.)

The growler, in all its varying formats, doesn’t seem to be as popular as it once was in the craft beer community. However, technology has come a long way, and the quality of the beer served from one can be excellent. I doubt they will ever permanently go away as there are always going to be people who want to take the special draft-only release home, or just like to bring a little bit of the bar experience somewhere else. Like a hospital.