For a few months now, the guys at Ale Yeah! have worked diligently to keep up with demand for growlers at their Decatur location.  Long lines at lush hour (Before you scold me for name-calling, I readily admit I have observed these lines firsthand), and occasional growler outages were the most obvious signs that the desire for “fresh” beer in the DEC was bigger than most could have imagined.

But where there’s demand, there’s inevitably more supply around the corner.  In fact, in just the last couple weeks, the Oakhurst Market has started filling growlers from 3 rotating taps.

And that was it.  Until today.

Let it be known, years from now, when a joyful little growler is added to the city logo, “Growly the Growler” is seen dancing on the Square during the Beer Festival, and the city’s riotously successful bike share program attributes its success to the custom-made growler holder across the handlebars, that August 12, 2011 was the day of the growler explosion.

What has happened?  Two things.

Today, The Beer Growler opened in Avondale Estates with 40 rotating taps.  Patch has got the goods on that one.

And also a little closer to home, Cooks Warehouse & Sherlock’s Wine Merchant tells us that as of today the shop has 4 rotating taps installed and are filling their own growlers.

And just like that, there are growlers within walking distance of thousands – if not millions – more Decatur residents!

Picture courtesy of The Beer Growler

 

Kevin just sent in this photo from the corner of Church Street and East Howard Ave in Decatur.

We owe a lot to that little Subaru!

I’m not sure my wife intended for this photo to be used for this purpose, but I thought it would be a great way to introduce my latest regular post idea.

Decaturites are always traveling the world, doing good, causing trouble, or “just chillaxin””.  And if they’re anything like me, along the way they are probably bumping into people, places and things that make them say, “Hmm, it’d be cool if Decatur had that!”.  (You may recall my “Portland Revelations” series last year)

So why not ask folks to snap a photo of the awesomeness in question and submit it to DM for discussion?  We’ve done many of these – unofficially – over the years, but I figured a more formalized request might increase the number of entries.  And they’re just ideas, not suggestions, mandates or additions to the Strategic Plan.

So here’s the first, courtesy of my wife: Nashville Green Bikes!  The city’s free bike share program started just last year.  Would such a program be successful in Decatur?

Feel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not discussed here over the past week. Comments close Monday.

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This week’s Free-For-All Friday is sponsored by The Marlay House…