I’m not sure if it was the amazing fall foliage this year, or my willingness to accept khakis and button-downs into my day to day attire, but in October, I started using a Portland Growler Company, 32 oz. GriGri ceramic growler to truck around cold beverages and craft brew. After extensive testing, I’ve found that my only regret is that it took me this long to do so. I still use my battle-tested Klean Kanteen bottle to carry water with me, but even with the massive collection of insulated steel containers on the market today, nothing quite fit the bill in terms of form and function like the PGC GriGri. In the office, on the trail; anywhere you want to go. You all know I spend a lot of time out in the woods, so you might think I’m a little crazy using a piece of pottery to carry my hooch on the trail – but stick around, and I’ll explain the whole situation to you.
Over the years, Portland Growler Company has made a name for itself by making naturally insulated works of art that carry adult liquids, while managing to bridge the gap between hipster and outdoor enthusiast. Available in 32oz or 64oz, PGC offers a variety of growlers – all of which feature flip-top “Grolsch” style lids, and some even have handles. Keeping it classy, PGC also offers their customer a leather leash option, which allows for easier carry when mounted to the lid’s bale gate.
The obvious theme here is that a PGC growler is something of a graduation into adulthood. It’s got a classic look that most of us try to adopt in our thirties, and it feels like the right investment, as we start to take our day jobs more seriously. Suffice to say, my Portland Growler Company Grigri has offered me a sense of balance as well of acceptance as I realize I am now 35, an accomplished design engineer, dad, husband, and hiker. (Wow! That got pretty deep, pretty quickly.)
I had first run across Portland Growler Company a couple of years ago, and heavily considered picking up one of their 64oz. growlers strictly to port from brewery to party and back to the brewery again. At the time, laws were pretty tight in Connecticut in regards to what type of container a brewery could put their beer in, so I held off. In the past couple of years, growler fill laws have changed, as have my habits. I’ve started taking my coffee more seriously and being that I like it cold and filled with MCT oil and butter, I need a proper way to get it from the house to the outdoors or office. I decided to head back to PGC’s home page and pick a long-term growler out. I landed on the 32 oz. GriGri variant because it had the most robust handle, which was a familiar convenience for me, having carried similar styled glass beer jugs around in the woods with me for years. I like the ability to carry the vessel in my hand, with my thumb through the ring, so I can sip and walk while still having ample control over the bottle. It just all worked out and I couldn’t be more satisfied.
Now, I’m sure you’re all wondering about durability. No, a Portland Growler Company Growler is not as durable as a plastic or metal water bottle – but in an age where we baby our cellphones; a ceramic carafe shouldn’t be an issue. And so far, it hasn’t been an issue for me – a guy who’s a little bit more of a bull in a China shop than he is a sheep in a meadow. People carried around clay pottery for centuries in their day-to-day lives and didn’t have an issue, and chances are neither will you.
I’ve brought by GriGri with me everywhere outside and it’s been knocked around so much that I don’t even think about it at this point. Most of you will probably carry it in a water bottle pocket, although I’ve found it is just as safe in my hand. Heck, I’ve even hung mine off my belt loop while descending through cracks in trap rock and while scrambling over rough terrain after I‘ve discovered the trail ahead was inaccessible and my only option was to climb. In all cases, my GriGri has come away without even a scratch.
The bottom line is that if you want something that looks good performs well when you’re headed out to a party, a board meeting, or just day to day life, a growler from Portland Growler Works is going to hold up considerably better than a glass growler every time. You can whip one of these things out in almost any social situation, and people will immediately understand that you’re dialed in to the core; a person who is in touch with modern society and lives on a higher level, both mentally and spiritually. Or that you at least have good taste in growlers anyway.
PGC Product Development and Marketing is probably cringing after reading my last paragraph – but I don’t just buy things to look good – my beard does enough of that for me already. I picked this up to try something new and wild, and ended up falling in love. If it looks hip and tricked out – well, that’s just another benefit. A naturally insulated, durable-enough growler from Portland Growler Company should be your next purchase when it comes to lugging your favorite brew around.
Find out more at PortlandGrowlderCompany.com.