Tap a Keg of Greatness at Croton's Green Growler

The Green Growler of Croton popped open its front door for a long awaited “soft opening” last week. Patrons were already thirsting for the anticipated 10 specialty beers on tap, available to be carried out of the store by the one and only growler. That is,when it can legally sell the frothy brews.

For all those unfamiliar with growlers, they are thick brown bottles that hold about a gallon of beer. They are available at local breweries, like Captain Lawrence of Pleasantville, and will soon be available at the Green Growler. The Green Growler had a soft opening, as opposed to a grand opening, because the store is waiting on its grocer’s license to sell beer at all.

Right now the store is stocked with dozens of hot sauces, pickles, chips and all things beer flavored to entice the carboy-happy crowd inside. Owner Seanna O’Callaghan is the grant writer turned homebrew beginner behind the operation.

“It became impossible to stop moving in this direction,” says O’Callaghan about owning her own business. O’Callaghan is a Croton native, and a recent returnee from Tea Town, and says that the name reflects an “environmental vision to the business.” Instead of buying individual bottles, attempting to recycle them, and “failing in many instances,” she will soon offer micro-brew beer in refillable growlers.

O’Callaghan is a Vassar graduate with a bachelor’s degree in physics, and has worked closely in the past with such mental health agencies as Pathways to Housing in New York City.

The Green Growler will carry everything needed to make a homebrewed beer, from the carboy, large glass container in which the beer is fermented, to the hops. Brewing equipment ranges from the beginner’s box, which contains everything needed for a homebrew, to specialty equipment for experimenting with original recipes.

Some of O’Callaghan’s favorite beers include Sixpoint of Brooklyn, Ommegang from upstate New York, and Good Island of Chicago. “I have a lot of things in the shop made by individual artisans,” says O’Callaghan, “I like that philosophy, and I’d like to spread it.”

Currently the Green Growler only has three kinds of beer—root beer, birch beer and ginger beer. This will all be changing soon however, and O’Callaghan has assured all that a grand opening party is in the works. Keep a lookout for the green dog emblazoned on the Green Growler’s window—he was designed by Abe Bluestein, O’Callaghan’s son.

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