Savannahians flocked to Drayton Tower’s newest retailer this Fourth-of-July weekend, packing out glass jugs of craft beer to celebrate the holiday.
The Beer Growler, 102 E. Liberty St., opened June 29, adding 45 taps to the local beer-jug-to-go market first made popular by Parker’s Market Urban Gourmet on Drayton Street in March 2012.
The Beer Growler offers a variety of craft beers and gourmet root beer from locations across the globe that are poured into 32- or 64-ounce bottles, which are sealed on site to make it legal for customers to transport the beer to their home or another location.
Franchise owner Nolan Wolf said beers made in Georgia and locally are by far the most popular.
“It’s nice to be a wall of 45 taps because so many different distributors have these really unique products that you may not necessarily see because nobody wants to put them on and take up five-tap real estate at one of your local bars,” Wolf said. “… It allows me to open up the market to some really unique products.”
Wolf also feels that having a large number of beer taps allows the company to constantly tweak its menu to meet consumer demand. An online menu allows the store to provide up-to-date listings.
“The second we put a keg on draft, it populates the website and sends out a Twitter blast and (posts) on Facebook … So, it gives our customers a real-time view from on their phone or at home or at the office — there is never a question of what’s on (tap),” Wolf said.
The glass jugs require an initial deposit of $4.99 but can be swapped for a larger or smaller bottle for no extra charge.
“You don’t need to clean it,” Wolf said. “You don’t need to maintain it. You don’t need to rinse it. There’s no maintenance on it. Just bring it back, and I will give you a brand new sterile one for free.”
The Drayton Tower location represents another notch in The Beer Growler’s belt, as the franchise is quickly building a presence across Georgia. The company took root in Athens in 2011 and has since spread to several Atlanta-area locations.
“My franchisers have been beyond amazing … This is their seventh store — successful store at that — and they just know what they are doing,” Wolf said. “They got it down to a science.”
Wolf said that, once unsealed, the beer should be consumed in the next 24 hours, but customers can expect sealed products from The Beer Growler to keep their fizz.
“The end goal is the quality of the product and the customer,” he said. A lot of folks have a bad — so to speak — taste in their mouth from growlers because a lot of folks will get them filled and let them sit in their fridge for a day or two and they go flat.
“Our whole system is centered around pouring as efficiently and as best as possible … Everything is centered so that you can take this home with you, and eight weeks later, you open it up and you still have some quality beer.”
The Beer Growler is technically considered a package store; so it can’t pour beer for on-site consumption.
Wolf said his company’s hours of operation are a welcome relief from the late-night work hours he experienced working in the food-and-beverage industry.
“Right now our hours are 11 to 9 p.m. during the weekdays. My employees love that,” he said.
IF YOU GO
The Beer Growler, 102 E. Liberty St., is located below Drayton Tower. The company sells 32 and 64-ounce glass jugs of both craft and root beer.
Hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday, and 12:30-6 p.m., Sunday.
For more info, go to www.TheBeerGrowler.net.