Can + growler = crowler, and Central Standard is the only brewery that has them (+video)

It’s called a “crowler,” and if you have one, your beer friends will be jealous.

So far, you can only get one at Central Standard Brewing, the new local craft brewery at 156 S. Greenwood.

“Crowler” is a combination of the words “can” and “growler.” Almost all craft breweries offer their customers goods to-go in glass growlers, which are giant, transportable bottles that hold around 64 ounces of beer. River City Brewing Co. made growlers famous in Wichita back when it was the only local brewer in town and retail beer sales were illegal on Sundays. Growlers were a work-around.

The latest thing is crowlers, aluminum cans that can hold around 32 ounces and can be filled and sealed on the spot.

So far, Central Standard is the only brewery in Kansas that has a table-top canning machine that produces crowlers. But it won’t be for long, co-owner Nathan Jackel said. The machines are in demand, and other local brewers are shopping for them, he said.

“It’s really new,” Jackel said. “Within a couple of years, everyone will have one.”

Longmont, Colo., brewer Oskar Blues started exclusively selling the machines last year. Jackel and his partners, Central Standard founders Andy Boyd and Ian Crane, sprung for one. (It wasn’t cheap, they confirmed.)

So far, customers love it, the partners said. For $10, they can take home an oversized aluminum can of beer that holds half the amount of a growler, and it’ll keep the beer fizzy and protected from light until they’re ready to drink it. The aluminum cans also are lighter and are safer and easier to take to the pool or the beach. Plus, they’re recyclable.

And it’s fun to watch the canning process. Jackel demonstrated it recently.

He grabbed an aluminum can that dwarfs a standard-sized beer can. He turned it upside down and washed it out using a special fountain that shoots water upward. Next, using a spigot installed alongside the brewery’s taps, he filled the can with CO2 gas, which turned the can cold and prevented oxidation. The gas visibly evaporated out of the top of the can. Next, Jackel filled the can with beer and let the tap run until it overflowed.

It took a while to get the beer in the can and for the foam to subside enough for it to be completely filled. When it was, he took the full can to the canner. He wiped the sides off with a towel, then pulled down on a lever, and a lid was added to the can. It whirred and spun for just a few seconds, and the can was sealed. He grabbed a big, black sticker printed with the Central Standard logo and affixed it to the outside of the can, writing the type of beer and the date it was canned with a marker.

“We’ve had people come in to buy a dozen,” Boyd said.

The only downside: The cans can’t be resealed once the tab is popped, so the drinker must be prepared to ingest two pints of beer – or have someone to share with – before opening a crowler.

This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 3:21 PM with the headline "Can + growler = crowler, and Central Standard is the only brewery that has them (+video)."