In case you were wondering what that odd cheering noise was a few weeks ago, it was the collective voices of Florida craft beer lovers and producers shouting in joy that Governor Rick Scott signed the bill that made half-gallon growlers legal in the state. That’s right, until just recently, craft beer could not legally purchase craft beer growlers in sizes other than one-quart or one-gallon sizes. A fact that pegged the state as one of only two that prohibited the half-gallon growler (Utah is the other one). But, after several years of legal wrangling, mega-beer producer back-stabbing and good ol’ boy favoritism, craft beer lobbying prevailed and the containers will become legal July 1, 2015.
To commemorate the ruling and the states newly-found sensibility, breweries are staging special events and offers. One of the most interesting is the offer Ben Davis — a crusader in the growler wars and owner of Intuition Ale Works in Jacksonville, Fla. — has proposed a sort of trade-in. For each one-gallon growler turned in at the brewery’s tap room July 1–4, a shiny new half-gallon growler will be provided along with a complimentary fill of one of Intuition’s core brands. Davis is so adamant about ridding the world of Intuition gallon growlers, that he has come up with a rather interesting way to dispose of them. Check out the video below for the details.
Free the Growler! from Ben Davis on Vimeo.
Just around the corner from Intuition at Bold City Brewing Company, a special Imperial cask ale will be tapped on Thursday, July 2. And on Friday, July 3 the tap room will open at noon with tappings of Barrel-Aged Super Secret Stout and Barrel-Aged Chinook IPA that will be available for 64-ounce growler fills. But, the tap room will be closed on Independence Day, so get your fills before then.
Out at Jacksonville Beach, patrons of Gren Room Brewing Company can celebrate the new 64-ounce growler freedom with a new beer and half-price half-gallon growler fills. The new brew is called Citrus Paradisi Pale Ale and is an American pale ale dry hopped with Amarillo hops and aged on fresh Florida grapefruit. To grab a half-gallon of this new beer just buy a new Green Room 64-ounce growler for $6 and get a fill for just $5.
Statewide, ,any tap rooms will stop at 6:40 p.m. to toast the passage of the 64-ounce growler law. Be sure to stop in to your favorite whether it be Funky Buddha in South Florida, Cigar City in Tampa, Grayton Beer Company in Santa Rosa Beach or any of the many other great breweries around the state to toast the new growler freedom.
