In the 1800s, when a man wanted to enjoy a few beers outside his local tavern, he didn’t stock his cellar with bottled beer. Instead, he asked the barkeep to fill a growler with fresh draft beer to go. Growlers usually took the form of half-gallon galvanized buckets, delivered to patrons by “bucket boys” who carried the pails through the streets on notched poles. this custom was called “rushing the growler.”

No one knows for sure the origination of the term “growler,” but one popular theory is that the vessels were named for the sloshing sound the beer made inside the buckets during transport.

Whatever the reason behind the name, growlers are experiencing a revival in taprooms all over Sonoma. Not only do they allow beer lovers to bring home unbottled, limited-volume brews for drinking at home, the reusable glass jugs are eco-friendly, too.

Patrons pay a small fee for an empty growler — usually $6 to $8 — which they can bring back to the brewery for discounted refills. (Once emptied, a growler should be rinsed immediately with warm water. If it’s been left to sit for a couple days, warm water with just a touch of dish soap will do the trick.)

If a growler’s seal — typically a flip-top lid — is left intact, the beer will stay fresh in the refrigerator for a week or so. Once a growler has been opened, it’s best to finish off the beer in a day or two.

Nearly all Sonoma brewers offer growlers in their taprooms, including Dempsey’s Restaurant & Brewery, Lagunitas Brewing Co. and Petaluma Hills Brewing Co. in Petaluma; Fogbelt Brewing Co., Russian River Brewing Co. and Third Street Aleworks in Santa Rosa; Carneros Brewing Co. in Sonoma; Woodfour Brewing in Sebastopol; Bear Republic Brewing Co. in Healdsburg; and St. Florian’s Brewery in Windsor.

So why not grab a growler?

These resinous flowers that give beer its bite were planted along the Russian River, on land now largely devoted to Chardonnay and pinot noir. Until it collapsed in the early 1950s, the hop industry had a century-long run, earning Sonoma the title “Hop Capital of America.”

“In the summers, before I was 12, I picked hops,” recalled Joe Rochioli Jr., 81, owner of Rochioli Vineyards on Westside Road near Healdsburg. “I hated it. Picking hops is the most tedious thing there is. You pick every little berry off and try not to get leaves in it. My mother wanted us to pick 100 pounds a day.”

The vines were trained on 10-foot-high poles, and later on trellis wires between the poles. When the hop buds (also called berries) were ripe, in late August or early September, the cluster-laden vines were cut from the poles and the flowers plucked from the vines. It was itchy, sticky work, as the resin from the hops stuck like glue to the hands, arms, face and clothing.

The fresh hops were dried in kilns, pressed and bagged for shipment to breweries across the country. During Prohibition, growers found a lucrative market in Europe, where crop failures had brewers begging for the bitter buds. Hop kilns dotted the Russian River Valley landscape, none more prominently than the Walters Ranch hop kiln, built in 1905 and now home to Hop Kiln Winery.

One purchaser of Sonoma hops was Grace Brothers Brewing, founded in 1897 by Frank and Joseph Grace. They acquired the Metzger brewery, near what is now Railroad Square in Santa Rosa, and after a fire, rebuilt the brewery. It survived through Prohibition, with several closings and reopenings, shuttering for good in 1966. At the peak of production in the 1930s, according to Santa Rosa historian Gaye LeBaron, Grace made one of the top three beers in California, along with Acme in San Francisco and Buffalo Brewing Co. in Sacramento. Today the Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel occupies the former Grace Brothers site.

The Sonoma hop market bottomed out in the mid-1950s, attributed to the fading American taste for bitter beers, diseased vines, less expensive mechanized farming in Sacramento, Oregon and Washington state, a booming apple and prune business, and the post-Prohibition resurrection of grape growing.

Still, a few hop plots remain, including Moonlight Brewing owner Brian Hunt’s quarter- acre patch in Fulton, and the Sonoma County Historical Society’s planting next to Hopkins River Ranch in Healdsburg. The hop industry has faded in Sonoma, yet the region’s brewing future appears to be limitless.

Feeling left out, or worse, ostracized, when those around you are talking beer smack? Here’s the lingo that will earn you some beer street cred.

ABV: Alcohol by volume, shown on a beer’s label. Budweiser is 5 percent abv, Russian River Brewing’s Pliny the Elder is 8 percent, and Pliny the Younger is 11 percent. The higher the number, the more potent the beer. Pace yourself.

ALCOHOL ABUSE: Spilling beer

BITCH SLAP: Mixing a six-pack in a store.

BOMBER: 22-ounce beer bottle

BOTTLE CONDITIONED: An ale that continues to ferment after bottling, adding to the carbonation. Think Champagne.

CHURCH KEY: Bottle opener

CICERONE: The beer equivalent of a wine sommelier; a person with certified expertise in beer and the serving of it.

DEAD SOLDIERS: Empty beer bottles.

DONG: Draft Only, No Growlers

FOUR C’S: The Pacific Northwest hops varieties Cascade, Centennial, Chinook and Columbus, grown on a large scale for craft brewers with flavors that tend to be aggressively bitter and with grapefruit, pine resin and/ or floral notes. If you know Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, you know Cascade hops.

FRESH HOP: Most hops are dried after picking, making for better storage and transportation. Fresh- hopped beers use the cones soon after they’ve been picked, and are said to have more flavor.

GROWLER: A jug or other glass container meant to be refilled at brewpubs and taken home. Beer to go.

HANG: Lingering bitterness on the finish.

HEAD RETENTION: The stability of a beer’s foam, as measured in seconds, by the time required for a 1-inch foam layer to collapse.

HUMULUS LUPULUS: Scientific name for hops, the flowers of vines that give beer its bitter aroma and flavor. There are more than 100 hops varieties in the world.

IBU: International Bittering Units. The higher the number, the more bitter the beer. Light lagers typically have 5-10 IBUs; India Pale Ales can have IBUs up to 70.

LACE: The lacelike pattern of foam sticking to the sides of a glass of beer.

LAWNMOWER BEER: Thirst-quenching suds gulped after strenuous physical activity. It doesn’t necessarily have any flavor.

LUPULIN THRESHOLD SHIFT: An inside joke at Russian River Brewing Co., for when one drinks so much hoppy beer the hops no longer taste bitter.

MACRO BEER: Fizzy yellow water produced in a large, corporate beer factory, usually delivered by Clydesdale horses.

NOBLE HOPS: The traditional European hop varieties prized for their low bitterness and clas- sic flavors and aromas, typically earthy, mossy or herbal flavor notes. If you know nothing else about hops, memorize Tettnang, Hallertau, Spalt and Saaz. Bonus points if you refer to the East Kent Golding variety as “EKG.”

SESSION BEER: One that is light enough in body and alcohol that several can be consumed in one sitting.

SKUNKED: A stale, funky-smelling and -tasting beer, usually found in clear bottles that have been exposed to ultraviolet or fluorescent light.

WEST COAST IPA: A style that originated in San Diego and is popular along the West Coast; highly hopped and with big, bold, bitter flavors.

WOUNDED SOLDIERS: Partially full, abandoned beer bottles.