Craft beer Crowlers invade Delaware
If you want to see a bemused look on someone's face, tell them you're headed out to pick up a Crowler.
Unless they are an above average craft-beer devotee, confusion is sure to ensue, even though Crowlers are on the rise in Delaware's bars, breweries and growler-filling stations.
First, let's get it out of the way: a Crowler is an oversized 32-ounce can of keg beer that is canned on-site to take home. Think of it as a half-sized can version of a full-size growler -- the take-out 64-ounce beer jugs that have been available for years.
It was in late 2013 when Colorado-based Oskar Blues Brewery first debuted a table-top seaming machine to can beers at a local taproom.
It didn't take long for the idea to foment interest.
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In the years since, Crowlers have slowly begun popping up across the country, including in Delaware where they can be purchased from upstate spots such as The Delaware Growler and the Stone Balloon Ale House, both in Newark, to downstate watering holes Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats in Rehoboth Beach and Crooked Hammock Brewery near Lewes. The Burley Oak Brewing Company in Berlin, Maryland, also has the quick-sealing technology.
While can supplier Ball Packaging holds the trademark for the Crowler, which actually refers to the can itself, Oskar Blues is the exclusive dealer of the original machine used to seal their cans. Other Crowler canning machines have made their way onto the market as well, including one from Dixie Canner Co.
Pike Creek beer drinker Lindsey Timberman remembers the first time she saw a Crowler a couple of years ago at Pizza Boy Brewing Co. near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She and her husband, Eric, just had to buy one and they ended up keeping it for two to three months. When it was time to drink, it tasted as fresh as the day it was poured.
She now stops into The Delaware Growler to pick them up every so often, drawn to the size and longtime freshness.
"I remember the first time we saw them do it. They just filled it up, get the top on, put it in this little wheel thing and the next thing you know you have this big can of beer," says Timberman, publisher of Delaware Hop Scene, an online Delaware beer news source. "I just love the concept of an instant can."
While Crooked Hammock was the state's first spot to add Crowlers back in October 2015, The Delaware Growler on Newark's Main Street, opened by Mike Slattery and his wife, Andrea, was not far behind.
This week marks the one-year anniversary of the Crowler's arrival in the heart of the University of Delaware's campus after Slattery plunked down several thousand dollars for the machine.
He estimates he's sold more than 3,000 Crowlers, goosing his annual sales partly because buyers of his glass growlers usually take home a Crowler or two as well.
His pours range from $8.99 to $19.99 depending on which of the 50 draft beers that customers choose. The average cost is around $10 with a $1 fee for the recyclable Crowler can.
Slattery has enjoyed firsthand the near-amazement on the faces of beer drinkers who see a Crowler being sealed for the first time -- a process that takes seconds. And then comes the realization of the possibilities, like having fresh draft beer in your home refrigerator that will stay fresh for months. From the moment he writes the name of the beer on the label to the time the can is sealed and ready for the customer, the entire process takes just under one minute.
"It's been incredible. It brings people into the store. I get calls about them," says Slattery, who first came across the cans via brewery representatives bringing fresh beers for him to sample.
Crowlers made their debut at Dogfish's brewpub on Rehoboth Avenue in August and were an attention-getting addition. While sales have been incrementally better as more people become familiar with the giant cans, the wow factor was immediate.
"We placed it strategically front and center right behind our bar so it's a showpiece," says Ryan Schwamberger, general manager of Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats. "When you fill one up, there are so many people staring at it curiously, like they're thinking, 'What the hell is that?'"
"It's a great marketing tool, too. Sometimes, I'll just fill up a beer and Crowl it off just to spike interest of the people sitting around the bar. It immediately sparks a conversation."
Dogfish's Milton brewery is due to have one installed in June and more are on the way in the state. New breweries and cideries are planning on joining the trend. A pair of not-yet-open Wilmington spots -- the Stitch House Brewery on Market Street across from The Grand and Civil Cider at Fifth and Shipley streets -- will have Crowlers, according to owners.
Dan Sheridan, owner of Stitch House Brewery, which plans to open in October, first saw a Crowler during a visit to West Chester, Pennsylvania's Levante Brewing Company a couple of weeks ago.
"I thought it was incredible. I bought a couple for home and they work so much better than growlers in some instances," says Sheridan, who is also behind Wilmington's Locale BBQ Post and Wilmington Pickling Company.
Even after seeing the cost of the machines, which generally range from $3,000 to $8,000, Sheridan was sold just like other brewery and bar owners in the state over the past year or so: "I think it's kind of a no-brainer for us to drop that kind money for something like that. It's a thing now."
And since states like Delaware allow on-site packaging of to-go beer as long as it's sealed at properly licensed establishments, no new laws needed to be passed to add Crowlers to the state's beer offerings.
Says John Cordrey, head of the Office of the Delaware Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner: "As long as it's capped, that's OK."
Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).