Brick Lane Brewing Co. is set to deliver fresh beer growlers and squealers to Dan Murphy’s in South Melbourne.

The Dandenong brewery signed the deal to roll out weekly deliveries of growlers and squealers, which Brick Lane says is a first for an Australian national retailer.

“We are proud of this initiative and excited for people to be able to drink fresh beer delivered chilled straight from the brewery,” Brick Lane managing director Paul Bowker told Brews News.

“Everything about this project is to ensure maximum freshness and the best expression possible of fresh beer at home.”

According to the brewery, offering growlers will allow them to replicate the taproom experience for customers, by offering limited-edition beers, as well as beer not currently available in cans.

Growlers saw a resurgence in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic as consumers looked for a more sustainable way to support local businesses, and the ATO even brought in rules to allow venues without manufacturer’s licences to repackage beer – although this was rescinded earlier this year as lockdowns eased.

Brick Lane says the products will have a ‘conservative’ 10-day shelf life, which it attributes to a ‘state-of-the-art’ counter-pressure growler filler, which evacuates oxygen as it fills the container using CO2.

It will be delivering the growlers and squealers by hand weekly, so although containers will not be refilled on-site, they can be returned with a swap’n’go offer which provides a $6 discount for every bottle returned. A full growler, at approximately 1.9 litres will start from $28.

The move comes as brewers take another look at packaging as well as wider sustainability projects. Bright Brewery recently launched a Paktech recycling scheme, whilst brewers such as WA’s Rocky Ridge has announced ambitious plans to lower water usage per litre of beer and Young Henry’s ongoing algae project enables the reuse of CO2 released in the brewing process.

Even major drinks companies are getting involved on a larger scale, with VB launching a solar exchange and Coca Cola trialling a paper bottle.