Now that we are "keg people" Mr. Chops and I tend to show up at social gatherings with jugs of beer instead of six packs. These 1/2 gallon glass jugs are known as "growlers". Many people in CT are unaccustomed to them, mainly due to our state's strict adherence to "blue laws". Blue laws, for those of you who live in modern, progressive states- are a mysterious group of laws created by our Puritan ancestors to prevent early Americans from having fun. For some reason, even though most states have yanked these ridiculous laws because they were sick of not being able to buy beer on Sunday or they tired of being arrested for holding hands in a public places- CT seems to rejoice their existence as an addition to the state's already very un-fun image. This being said, in many states, you can stroll down the street to your local bar or brew pub with a jug (!!!!!) and fill it up with a half-gallon of beer (!!!!!) go home and drink it in the privacy of your own home! I know! I know! The horror! Just think of what might happen?
Inevitably, when we refer to half gallon jugs as "growlers", someone asks how they got that name. Beer snobs are apparently supposed to know the answer to this question, so I looked it up. What I found was a whole bunch of unsubstantiated claims having to do with the sound a jug made when you filled it up, or something to do with drinking beer to make your stomach stop growling. But mostly, it just sounded like B.S. so I think I'm just going to make up my own story that sounds better. I encourage you to do the same. Also, I am sure that my sister, Lady Pilsner, queen of all internet research, will find the real answer for me because I am too busy knitting. There, I said it.
Speaking of Lady Pilsner, I might add that in the Czech Republic you can stumble into your local village bar and fill up any water-tight vessel with beer and bring it home. A plastic liter water bottle, rubber boot, watering can, flower pot, whatever! And somehow, even in spite of this, society prevails and chaos has not ensued. Now that's my kind of place.
