Growlers in Ottawa
A growler is a container used to transport draught beer from one place or another. It can be made out of glass, ceramic or stainless steel and come in various sizes, from the 1.89 litre (64 oz) standard to 750 ml (25 oz) mini versions.
In Ottawa and the surrounding area it is standard for a brewery or brewpub to offer their beer to-go in a growler. While filling fees vary from brewery-to-brewery they all follow the same rules laid out by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and will only fill their own branded growler. For example, a Beau’s growler cannot be filled at Big Rig. The up side is that the brewery exchanges the used, dirty growlers for ones that have been cleaned at the brewery so you never have to worry about cleaning your own.
The only breweries that don’t offer growlers are contract breweries, or breweries that use the space of another brewery to brew their own beer. For a list of breweries/brewpubs in the “Ottawa-area” check out our indepth list and do some beer tourism.
Using the Guide
In our list of growler offering breweries we feel it’s important to highlight three things that may affect your growler purchases:
- Growler Availability/Size
While the 1.89 litre Growler is still the standard many breweries have started offering smaller sizes. Other sizes include 950ml Half Growler (also called the Boston Round) and the 750ml Grumbler. - Filling Method
How it’s filled will determine how long you can keep your growler. Some breweries/brewpubs fill their growlers using the bottom-up method where a hose is attached to a draught tap and then inserted into the growler. This may be easy to do, but having the beer exposed to the oxygen inside of the growler will cause it to spoil faster. The other filling method is to use a counter pressure C02 filler that purges oxygen out of the growler before filling it with fresh draught. This is time consuming, but will keep the beer fresh for a longer time. - Deposit
The growlers you buy are expected to be returned to the brewery and you’re charged a deposit to encourage their return. Not all breweries charge the same amounts. Some local breweries will take growlers from other breweries thanks to Brew Donkey, an Ottawa craft beer delivery service. You can find out who participates in the Growler Exchange Program on their website.
Ashton Brewing Company
113 Old Mill Road; Beckwith, ON / (613)257-4423 / http://www.ashtonbrewpub.ca
- Availability: 1.89l Growlers and 950ml Half Growlers
- Filling Method: Unknown
- Deposit: $5.00 / Growler
Beau’s All Natural Brewing Co.
10 Terry Fox Drive; Vankleek Hill, ON / (613)678-2799 / http://www.beaus.ca
- Availability: 1.89l Growlers (limited beer available in Growlers)
- Filling Method: Counter Pressure
- Deposit: $4.00 / Growler
Beyond the Pale Brewing Company
5 Hamilton Avenue; Ottawa, ON / (613)695-2991 / http://www.beyondthepale.ca
- Availability: 1.89l Growlers and 950ml Half Growlers
- Filling Method: Counter Pressure
- Deposit: $4.00 / Growler
Bicycle Craft Brewery
850 Industrial Ave, Unit 12; Ottawa, ON / http://www.bicyclecraftbrewery.ca
- Availability: 1.89 Growlers and 950ml Growlers
- Filling Method: Unknown
- Deposit: $4.00 / Growler
Big Rig Brewery & Kitchen
2750A Iris Street; Ottawa, ON / (613)688-3336 / http://www.bigrigbrew.com
- Availability: 1.89l Growlers
- Filling Method: Bottom-Up
- Deposit: $5.00 / Growler
Broadhead Brewing Company
81 Auriga Drive, Unit 13; Ottawa, ON / (613)695-9444 /http://www.broadheadbeer.com
- Availability: 1.89l Growlers
- Filling Method: Counter Pressure
- Deposit: $4.00 / Growler
Broken Stick Brewing Company
78-5450 Canotek Road; Ottawa, ON / http://www.brokenstickbrewing.com
- Availability: 1.89l Growlers and 750 ml Grumbler
- Filling Method: Unknown
- Deposit: $4.00 / Growler
Cassel Brewery
715-C Principale Street; Casselman, ON / (613)816-2317 /http://www.casselbrewery.com
- Availability: 1.89l Growlers
- Filling Method: Counter Pressure
- Deposit: $4.00 / Growler
Covered Bridge Brewing
6-119 Iber Road; Stittsville, ON / (613)915-2337 /http://www.coveredbridgebrewing.com
- Availability: 1.89l Growlers and 950ml Half Growlers
- Filling Method: Counter Pressure
- Deposit: $5.00 / Growler
Dominion City Brewing Co.
#15-5510 Canotek Road ; Ottawa, ON / (613)688-6207 / http://www.dominioncity.ca/
- Availability: 1.89l Growlers and 750ml Grumblers
- Filling Method: Counter Pressure
- Deposit: $4.00 / Growler
Kichesippi Brewing Co.
866 Campbell Avenue; Ottawa, ON / (613)728-7845 / http://www.kbeer.ca
- Availability: 1.89l Growlers
- Filling Method: Counter Pressure
- Deposit: $5.00 / Growler
Mill Street Brew Pub
555 Wellington Street; Ottawa, ON / (613)567-2337 / http://ottawa.millstreetbrewpub.ca
- Availability: 1.89l Growlers
- Filling Method: Counter Pressure
- Deposit: $4.00 / Growler
Nita Beer Company
190 Colonnade Rd, Unit 17; Ottawa, ON / 613-688-BEER (2337) / http://nitabeer.com
- Availability: 1.89l Growlers and 0.95l Growlers
- Filling Method: Unknown
- Deposit: $4.00 / Growler
The Clocktower Brew Pub
575 Bank Street; Ottawa, ON / (613)233-7849 / http://www.clocktower.ca
- Availability: 1.89l Growlers
- Filling Method: Unknown
- Deposit: $4.00 / Growler
Whiprsnapr Brewing Co.
14 Bexley Place Unit 106; Ottawa, ON / http://whiprsnaprbrewingco.com/index.html
- Availability: 1 l Growlers
- Filling Method: Unknown
- Deposit: $3.00 / Growler
