I saw in the Duvel buys Firestone thread several folks mentioned they mainly buy beer on sale. Me, too. But, for the last two months I haven't been able to brew. I moved and am living in an apartment while I wait to move to a new house. Can't wait to brew again.
So, on to my topic, how much for a growler fill where you live?
Here in Alabama you can fill a growler at a bottle shop and maybe bars (haven't tried yet). You can't fill at the brewery tap room. The bottle shops are like bars. You can sit down and drink a pint or two on site. I have filled two growlers so far. The first was $14 (Cigar City Jai Alai), the second $18 (Bell's Lager Beer)! Both were excellent. That store has about 30 taps. Nothing was less than $14 for 64 oz.
But, in the grocery most 6-packs (72 oz.) of craft beer are $8.99 and up (generally not too much up).
Why are growlers so much more expensive for less beer? I recently told my dad about growler fills. He was thrilled. He said keg beer is better. I don't know if I agree though. Especially with craft beer in cans I think when it is fresh draft is not that much different. Plus with cans or bottles, there is not a spoilage problem.
Should I expect lower prices when the breweries get in this business? That is illegal in AL for at least another year. But I hope more and more beer stores and bars start selling growler fills so the will price drop.
Last word, when homebrewing I can get beer just how I like it for under a $1 per pint fairly easily. So that has made me cheap.
Last last word, I just bought a GrowlTap (growltap.com). It's supposed to keep my growler beer fresh. That plus the growler itself has set me back $51. The GrowlTap is touchy, but, I think I like it. One cool thing, the primary co2 injection method is paintball co2 cartridges. But, you can connect to your regulated co2 bottle. Just turn the pressure down to compensate for the short hose and to avoid rupturing the glass.