Maybe you drink it by the bottle. Or the can. Maybe you splurge by the pint at your favorite bar. The Growler Guys want you to drink it by the jug.

Maybe you’re already familiar with the “growler” concept: take home beer (or other tasty beverages) fresh from the tap in a reusable (and often collectable) vessel. Maybe you’ve taken advantage of local breweries with this option. What The Growler Guys, who just opened their newest location here in Ashland, want you to do is shop for growlers the way you shop at the grocery store, plus a whole lot more: buying from the tap means you can sample before you fill.

“We truly feel it is our mission to share our love of all things Craft to our customers by sampling any and all the beer, cider, sangria or kombucha on our taps,” says manager Emily Jablonski. With a whopping 68 rotating taps of craft beer, cider, and kombucha, and 11 Pacific Northwest locations to boast, The Growler Guys are helping widen the beer “scene” in Ashland, a righteous mix of experience and local focus. At the moment, 47 of their taps are Oregon-made brews, but the variety also reaches to such locales as Vermont and Germany. (Too long to list here, the current tap list is available online, TheGrowlerGuys.com)

The new Ashland location certainly has the potential to be a rad community space: both food and coffee are also served, and a patio complete with fire pits makes the venue more than a grab-and-go. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly. If you’re a beer snob, even better: the staff will entertain your particular palate and pair you with the perfect pint served in the correct glassware (shout out to Karl for recommending the beautifully balanced hop-floral Rogue 7 Hop). Yes, a hardy recommendation: Head over to 345 Lithia Way to see what all the fuss (or foam) is about!