[whitey]

I went to Granite City Brewery the other yesterday afternoon, and I bought a Growler of Stout to take home with me. The Waiter told me that I had about 24 hours to drink the growler othewise the stout would be flat.

True to what he said, 24 hours later the stuff tastes like cold coffee.

Is this normal?

[mrbizness]

If it's on nitrogen, it doesn't seem to last as long.  I have had growlers of beer that does not use nitrogen keep for a couple of weeks unopened.

[tschmidlin]

If it's got a good seal it should keep for longer than a day.  I've kept them for weeks with no problems.

[jeffy]

mrbizness and tschmidlin are both right!  I'm no lab tech or scientist, but I think if the stout was served on mixed gas or poured into the growler through a nitro tap, you'll need a lot more pressure to keep the carbonation in solution.  It will not have enough CO2 to keep it carbonated long.  If, however, there was no N2 involved as with most beers, then it should keep carbonated in the growler until it is opened.

[bluesman]

Depending on how tight of a seal but it will still be tasty in a few days. 

It probably wouldn't last that long in my house though. 

[tumarkin]

Besides carbonation, the other issue to be concerned with (regarding growler storage) is oxidation. Many brewpubs just fill the growlers direct from the tap. Not always an issue, but oxidation can cause flavor degradation, increasing over time. Generally a good rule to drink it up quickly.

Before prohibition, growlers used to be open pails. The man of the house would send one of his young boys (or maybe a neighbor) down to the pub with a pail and the kid would bring back the beer - to be consumed pretty much right away. This was called rushing the growler. I've heard it said that the name came from the sound of the escaping CO2, giving off a 'growling sound.'  Don't know if that's correct, I sorta doubt it, but

[dannyjed]

I have had growlers go flat over night I think that it also depends on the carbonation straight out of the tap as well.