The 64 ounce beer jug - or growler - is sufficiently interesting to the guys as Washington Beer Blog that they made it the topic of this month's edition of The Session:
These days people take growlers for granted. In my neck of the woods, growlers are a relatively new phenomenon. I don’t recall exactly when they appeared on the local beer scene but it could not have been more than eight or ten years ago. Maybe they existed in obscurity before. My memory fails me. Today growlers are everywhere. I think. Growlers are very common around the Pacific Northwest, anyway. I cannot speak to their popularity elsewhere. I’d love to know.
Unfortunately, by "everywhere" they mean large parts of the US. Growlers are only available at some breweries in my part of Canada. I have to drive an hour and a quarter to find the nearest growler fill. In Quebec, they are actually found pre-filled on the shelf in some retail shops, too. I have seen similar things, rarely, in the odd NY beer store instead of the normal tap fill but more and more they are showing up in grocery stores and even gas stations over there. It is a prudent sustainably green way to buy good beer you may want to have in a few days or so at a decent price. Once upon a time, they were galvanized steel pails served out a side window. But people can recycle them on you.
I actually discussed the growler as the fourth unacknowledged serving unit for beer back in Session 48. I was a year ahead of time. I like them a lot. Just wish I have access to them that is provided in a free society.