growler fill tube

[Sheehan]

Making some fill tubes for our Tuesday growler night to save on beer loss.

-Design ideas? We don't have tapered faucets.
-Anyone familiar with "Maverick Machineworks Growler Filler".
-How to efficiently/effectively keep the outside of the tube sanitary during high volume.
-Any other experienced wisdom is much appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

[kugeman]

Jeff,
Just made a growler fill tube. 2-3 inches of 1/2" I.D. hose, then a 1/2" to 3/8" splicer, and 8-10 inches of 3/8" hose. Put the top of the hose in hot water and then work it around a beer faucet. I don't have tapered faucets, but the 1/2" hose will stretch to fit the faucet if the hose is warm. The length of the lower hose just needs to be adjusted to reach the bottom of the growler.

As for sanitizing the hose, I just rinse it after use and leave it in a small bucket of star-san. So far this has worked great and made life a lot easier for my bartenders.

[nick79brew]

fill trick

If your beer is foaming a bit, fill the growler to the top then fill a pitcher with enough beer to complete the growler fill. Over a sink, both the pitcher and growler at about a 45degree angle, fill the growler from the pitcher. The beer will flow in and the excess foam will flow into the pitcher. Much less waste!

[BeersmithMT]

I know you said you don't have tapered faucets, but if you fill alot of growlers I advise you get them. We use Perlick stainless faucets (I think about $20 each) that have a tapered flow straightener on them. We then cut appropriate length 1/2"ID vinyl hose which fits just perfect on the faucets. A single piece of hose works better for filling than "splicing" two different diameters toghether. The 1/2" vs the 3/8" makes for faster filling. We also keep a bucket of sanitizer handy that the hoses get pitched into after each use.

[Sheehan]

Thanks for the replies! I'll experiment with hoses and a bucket of sanitizer for now. Might also try Mavericks Machineworks filler. I know the best way is to get the tapered faucets, but we have 33 taps and they were all new last fall before I started here. We already use the pitcher trick. It's not a bad way, but I think that method flattens the beer a bit further and I'd like a more efficient solution.
Thanks again!

[brewbonghm]

Get a piece of thick wall hose that fits inside your tap faucet, keep some of your growlers in cool storage (for new fills) and get a air-brush tool, hook it up to a CO2 line and purge the growlers first (a quick 10 count works). The hose that fits inside the tap will create much less foam, and can be stored in an ice bucket filled w/sanitizer. One piece construction, cheap, disposable, easy to clean and sanitize and it works!