There’s a New Growler on Orcas

— by Lin McNulty —

A potter at heart, specializing in slipcasting, Philip Shane began to feel the itch of clay between his fingers when Island Hoppin’ Brewery opened its doors in September 2012. What do a brewery and clay have to do with each other?

Philip was a neighbor of Island Hoppin’ when they were in Deer Harbor. When they asked him about making mugs for them, he responded with “what about growlers.” He then spent hours, days, weeks, and months researching specs, volume, history, and how to get the right fit for a lid. There is no mold on the market for growlers. He had to construct his own.

So what’s a growler (other than a noisy Navy plane)? A growler is a glass or ceramic jug used to transport draft beer in Australia, the United States and Canada. They are commonly sold at breweries and brewpubs as a means to sell take-out craft beer. The exploding growth of craft breweries and the growing popularity of home brewing has led to an emerging market for the sale of collectible growlers as functional artwork.

Growlers are generally made of glass and have either a screw-on cap or a hinged porcelain gasket cap, which can provide freshness for a week or more. The modern glass growler was first introduced by Charlie and Ernie Otto of Otto Brother’s Brewing Company in 1989.

Fast forward to September 2014. Philip was at Island Hoppin’ showing some tourists the three generations and his latest prototype of what would become Orcas Island Growlers. Kyle Rosetta was visiting from Bellingham and he and Phil “got to talking.” With over 20 years experience in marketing, content creation, and promotional videos, Kyle told Phil he was camping and exploring Orcas Island for a few days and asked him if he would like a video. Two days later they shot the video, which Kyle then took the video home to edit. One week later it was done and posted on a new website, orcasislandgrowlers.com.

Discovering they possessed mutually beneficial abilities, Phil and Kyle decided to officially partner up about a month later. Kyle notes that they have “symbiotic skill sets to take the business further than with one person involved. It just seemed the right thing to do.”

The term “growler” likely dates back to the late 19th century when fresh beer was carried from the local pub to one’s home by means of a small galvanized pail with a lid, but it didn’t seal well. It is claimed the sound that the CO₂ made when it escaped from the lid as the beer sloshed around sounded like a growl. There is also another anecdotal story that the term originated when parents sent their kids to the pub for some beer. Some of the beer would slosh out before they got it home and this resulted in a lot of “growling” across the bar when clients complained they were being shorted by the pub owner.

Currently, Orcas Island Growlers are available at Island Hoppin’ Brewery, and they will soon be expanding to Bellingham, Anacortes, and no doubt beyond. A full online store still in the works, but orders can currently be placed through their website.

Beta testing has been done and now it’s time to: Drink. Rinse. Repeat.