Crowler Spillage Problem Solved

I have switched almost exclusively to crowler can fills when getting fresh beers from breweries. My lonely collection of 64 oz growlers now just take up space.  One problem I have found with the big crowler cans is that they spill everywhere when poured, no matter how slow and careful I am when filling my glass.  I heard on the Indie Beer Show Podcast that leaving the tab at a 45 degree angle helps solve messy pours.  No, this does nothing and sometimes makes dispensing worse.  I finally figured out how to fix the crowler spillage problem - make a second hole in the top of the can. 

I am not sure why I did not think of this sooner.  It is so obvious, and so simple.  You used to punch two holes in a can of Hawaiian Punch, and even a can as small as condensed milk needs two holes.  A crowler is no different.  I thought that since a crowler is just a big beer can it should pour like one.  I kept thinking it was operator error, or that somehow the crowler had been incorrectly filled and sealed, and that if I just found the right angle or speed I could fix the problem.  You'd think that after dozens of crowlers I'd have realized sooner that there was a bigger force than pour angle causing beer puddles every time I filled a glass of beer.  A crowler is no different from a can of Hawaiian Punch or condensed milk:  punch a second hole and pour your beer without a mess. 

Doing My Part

We are five days into Flagship February and I had one of those "Aha" moments.  I almost always have a flagship beer in my beer fridge:  Pizza Port's Swami's IPA.  This beer is so common around my house that I can't even find a picture of it.  This is a great IPA, picture or not.  To me, Swami's ranks as one of the top IPAs in San Diego, which means one of the top IPAs anywhere.  I plan to keep it stocked in my fridge as long as Pizza Port brews it.  I do need to take a picture of it, though.

Flagship February

The craft beer marketing idea of Flagship February is dominating my beer twitter today.  The idea is to drink flagship craft beers, like Stone Brewing's IPA, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, or Anchor Brewing's Steam beer in the month of February.  The campaign also seems like a way to direct attention away from the latest shiny object beer trend and redirect focus and sales to core beers.  What a good idea, and it's perfect for social media. 

Stone Brewing's IPA or Sierra Nevada Pale Ale are easy flagship choices.  What about flagship beers from new or semi-new breweries?  How old does a beer have to be to qualify as a flagship beer?  I am guessing Societe Brewing's Pupil IPA or Apprentice IPA are flagship beers, as well as Modern Times' Black House and Blazing World, but what about flagship beers for newer breweries like Culture, or Kilowatt, or Burgeon, or any other brewery that has opened in the past few years?  Do they even have any flagship beers yet?   I guess you drink with whatever beers are always on these new breweries' tap lists or canning/bottling schedule.  Maybe I just need to not over think this hashtag-driven promotion and crack open a doggone Stone Brewing IPA, or an AleSmith .394. 

Wait, has .394 been around long enough to be considered a flagship beer?   I'm so confused.  Hmm,.. wait a minute, I see a hazy IPA on that tap list, I think I'll just drink it while I figure out the correct definition of flagship.