Store delivers beer foam-free from the keg into take-home growlers

Beer may be available from vending machines in Japan, but the same cannot yet be said in most of the rest of the world. That’s where New York City’s The Growler Station comes in, offering a way for beer lovers to get craft beer to go, straight from the tap. With its first shop in New York’s Greenwich Village, The Growler Station lets customers fill up 64-oz. “growlers,” or reusable glass bottles, with the craft beers of their choice direct from the keg. Specialized filling equipment allows for quick, foam-free filling along with a longer-lasting fresh taste than growlers usually afford, The Growler Station says. A flat-screen TV and two iPads tell shoppers about the store’s current offerings, including a searchable guide in the form of an electronic “Beer Wizard,” according to a Thrillist report. Beer is also available in 32-oz. plastic containers, while a wide assortment of bottled beers as well as specialty foods for accompaniment are reportedly on hand as well. Following its New York City debut last fall, The Growler Station is already planning additional stores in South Carolina, Georgia, Washington DC, upstate New York and Michigan, to name just a few. Brew-minded entrepreneurs: one to get involved in? Spotted by: Kelly Nielsen