Pressurized Portable Growler

Product Description

We love beer. But many of our favorite microbrews aren't sold in bottles. The uKeg is the world's most innovative draft beer growler. It keeps beer fresh, cold and carbonated, and goes wherever you go. Toast to flavor and friends. With a uKeg, your favorite beer will stay brewery fresh to the last pint, whether poured from your refrigerator or from your tailgate.

Features

• UKEG - keep beer fresh for weeks.
• CARBONATION CAP - automatically regulates pressure to optimally carbonate beer. Choose desired carbonation level, from zero (off) up to 15 psi.
• VESSEL- durable, double-wall Vacuum-insulated Stainless Steel.
• PRESSURE GAUGE - easily read the pressure inside the growler.
• DISPENSER TAP - easily pours beer any time, without removing cap. Plus tap lock to prevent dispensing.
• INTERCHANGEABLE TAP HANDLE - handle can be changed to personalize or represent your favorite Brewery.
• SIGHT GLASS - shows contents of uKeg and how much is left.
• CO2 CARTRIDGE - uses low cost, food-grade Co2 cartridges.
• Included Components: two CO2 cartridges

Top Reviews

Don't buy this!!!
by Bear Wat (1 out of 5 stars)
June 23, 2018

I make beer for a living, so I have an opinion based on experience. This thing is a piece of crap.

I used it three times over a week and the seals stopped working.

When I complained to the company I got a LONG set of e-mail instructions about taking the thing apart and checking the seals. (Side note: the e-mail was long but also vague and had many misspellings.) The HUGE problem is that they don't include the little tool that is really required to take it apart without damaging it. Secondly, they don't include any replacement seals, which likely costs next to nothing.

I went through a box of chargers trying to make it work. After days of swearing and frustration I gave up and my friend turned the growler into a planter.

The product is attractive and I was excited to get it, however, it is worthless and attempts to get it fixed by working with the manufacturer fell short of success. I do not recommend this product, unless you want a $150 planter.
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Could easily be a 5!
by C Groden (2 out of 5 stars)
February 19, 2018

Everything appears to be of good quality, except the regulator unit. It is made of plastic and the seals/gaskets tend to move out of place if you tighten it too much. Yes, you should be careful when you tighten something like this, but this is unreasonably fragile. Especially for something that is PRESSURIZED.

First, if you tighten the regulator too tight when putting it on the growler, the ring seal easily moves out of place, the ring seal slips out of its groove. This causes the CO2 to leak out of the growler, hence losing its pressure. Once I figured this out, I always had to remind the bartender to gently put on the cap and just turn it to where it is snug and not too tight.

Second, after I got that worked out, a new issue popped up. Now when I replace the cartridge and tighten the case, which then punctures the cartridge, you have to keep tightening the case so it does not leak. Well, now it leaks before I can even put it on the growler. The seals in this part are damaged and irreplaceable.

This growler could very easily be a 5 star. But the last few times that I have tried to show it off to friends, the regulator would fail on me. Now the regulator is completely useless.

I now have a very expensive non-pressurized growler, which I have had for 2 and 1/2 months and filled only 5 times.

I will reach out to Growlerwerks and see how this gets handled and update this review.

Thank you, for reading.
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Works really well for force-carbonating home-brew
by Coffee_ATL (5 out of 5 stars)
September 17, 2017

I bought this in early 2017, primarily to force carbonate home-brew. It works extremely well with no leaks, and it holds pressure perfectly. I have since moved onto 5-gallon kegs for force carbonating and use the uKeg for serving in my refrigerator and for transporting to share with others. I highly recommend watching the UKEG FIRST USE PRIMER video on the Growlerwerks website under the "How To" tab. Based on that content, I'm guessing there were some early manufacturing (no design) issues that led to some of the poor reviews/experiences by the very early adopters. I had none of the issues (that could have easily been corrected by following instructions in the video) addressed, but it was reassuring to know I received a perfect product.

To force carbonate, I filled the growler using a bottling wand, then cooled the beer to about 40 degrees F. I then installed the cartridge and cap and opened the valve to full pressure. In a week I had perfectly carbonated amber ale. I then turned the pressure down to about 6 psi. I did have to use a second cartridge after drinking the first couple of pints. This is because force carbonating uses the majority of the first cartridge. If force-carbonating home-brew, I do recommend under-filling so there is more surface area for absorbing CO2. You can also rock the growler on it's side, back and forth, for 2 or 3 minutes to expedite carbonating the home-brew, like with any keg.

After force carbonating, dispensing beer is just like any commercial beer you might fill the growler with. In that case, one cartridge is plenty for dispensing the full volume.

Through all of this I had no leaks, and it held pressure flawlessly over the course of two weeks.

I did get a drip or two every time I dispenses, This is because some beer get caught in the spigot. Just tilt the growler forward after pouring to dispense the captured couple of drops into you glass, or use a bar towel...or both. It's a non-issue for me, as this is an excellent product.
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Suffers from poor quality control
by Craig (3 out of 5 stars)
April 10, 2017

This is a unique idea with lots of potential but this product has some QA issues. I rec'd the 128 for xmas from my girlfriend, she is awesome obviously. I took out the product and read the enclosed materials about care and cleaning. These are all very well put together, easy to understand and professional. I then started to play with the product a bit to get more comfortable with it's parts and working etc. Well immediately I noticed the plastic tap handle that comes with the unit was not properly attached and pops right off with no exertion. If you were to tip the product on its side, say for cleaning, the tap handle falls right off. This isn't a deal breaker as the unit still functions without it, but the look isn't that clean.

Then I noticed that the tap locking mechanism didn't seem to operate. I would push it in, but then I could easily override it by pulling the tap handle. "That's not how that's supposed to work," I said to myself. After about a week I was in the garage and I decided to take a closer look. So I grabbed the unit and pushed as hard as I possibly could on the locking mechanism. With veins bulging in my neck the mechanism finally *popped* all the way through as intended and locked the tap. There was clearly something wrong with the machining or fitting on this piece but brute force finally won out. This part of the unit now works properly as intended and no longer requires me to lean on it with all my might, it slides back and forth with normal pressure.

Anyways the kit came with two CO2 chargers. This is a finicky product. In order to maintain a consistent level of carbonation one has to monitor the gauge after each pour. This isn't surprising as fluctuations in temperature and volume within the mini keg will require you to adjust how much CO2 goes in. So just keep in mind, if you are seeking 5-10 psi and you just filled the keg, that the amount of turn on the CO2 bit doesn't need to be that much. Once you place it in the fridge the CO2 will climb above whatever you originally set it at. Then after you take some pulls you will need to reintroduce more CO2. This should be expected as this is a very simple mechanism for introducing CO2 and really is not a science. The beer itself comes out fine in my opinion.

Lastly, and this is sort of the thing that really made me question the QA of the company, was in February I was out of CO2. I ordered CO2 cartridges for the 128 specifically from Growlerwerks on amazon. Well they arrived about a week or more later since the cartridges have to be shipped via ground. I specifically ordered from Growlerwerks to be safe. I knew I could get similar cartridges elsewhere but was worried they would not fit correctly. So just the other night when I got a chance to refill the growler for the first time since February I put a new CO2 cartridge in...it doesn't fit (picture attached). These cartridges cost over $30 with shipping. They are not after market or made by a company with no affiliation with Growlerwerks. The packaging is Growlerwerks packaging and was ordered from them on their amazon store. This, to me, is the most unacceptable part of the entire thing and solidifies my belief that the product is suffering from it's own poor quality checks. If it were not for these issues listed above I would say this product it very good, maybe even excellent, however because of one small issue after the next it's OK at best. So beware that the product does work as advertised when everything is going perfect but the company themselves seems to be dropping the ball on quality, which hurts the product.
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Functioning unit delivered - great results!
by Emily C (5 out of 5 stars)
June 21, 2018

I was nearly turned off by all of the negative feedback on this product, I will admit. But I also figured that Amazon has a great return policy in the event I purchased a growler with a manufacturing defect.

This is a great gift for the beer-lover in your life! I was truly impressed with how cold the beer stayed and the level of carbonation. Flavor remained pure and bright on the IPAs for much longer than in the growler bottle. We've wanted a "keg-o-rater" for a long time, but haven't been able to justify the investment. This amazing growler fits the bill perfectly and accurately reflects our consumption. Now we can get a growler from the brewery once every couple of weeks without worrying that we have to drink the entire thing in one night. Love!

Ease of assembly: it took probably five minutes out of the box. The number of pieces did appear a bit overwhelming at first, but the instructions were decent and we had it assembled in no time.

Pro tip - make sure to pour your beer in the growler with enough time to let it rest. We got trigger happy and tried to pour a beer immediately to see how it functioned, and naturally that first pour was incredibly foamy. Let it settle for a couple hours before enjoying to maximize the usefulness of the growler. (I mean, if you plan to drink your purchased beer right away, what's really the point of a storage system like this one?)

Is it worth the steep price tag? This growler is well-within the market we found. I worry about the price only because the number of people that have had problems with this particular brand. We, however, received a well-functioning unit, so I'd say it's worth it at this point. If you get one that doesn't work, I'd advise you to return and replace it with another. Because when functioning as it should be, as ours has done for the past few weeks, this growler is a game changer.
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Best Gift Ever!!!
by Hawes Family (5 out of 5 stars)
June 25, 2017

Bought it for hubby for Father's Day! He is LOVING it! He has refilled it twice so far, first time finished the beer off in 2 days, Second time went 6 days says the beer was still as fresh as the day he first got it from the Brewery. Best Gift Ever!!!
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No Negatives Here!
by ibaconi (5 out of 5 stars)
May 14, 2018

Had I read the reviews before making the purchase, I'd've had second thoughts. However, my own experience, thus far has been absolutely positive. It's obviously a very high quality piece of equipment. Installing the presure canister was a breeze. Everything seems magnificent. absolutely no leakage. The enclosed manual and packaging give the impression of a company truly interested in customer satisfaction.
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Want a keg with problems and support doesn't respond?
by Michael A. Mccall (1 out of 5 stars)
August 22, 2018

After buying 2 uKegs, both started experiencing problems with the regulators. Specifically, you could never shut the C02 completely off and now I'm spending $$ on C02 when I could be buying more beer.

And to make it even more fun... Two emails sent to support over the last several days have gone unanswered.

You guys need to support your product better. Pretty simple. The review hear speak to that issue.

I'm going back to growlers. Much less hassle.

uKeg= poor execution, poor support
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Regulator Cap Leak -- Minimal Customer Service Response
by Preston Mays (1 out of 5 stars)
December 14, 2017

The uKeg 64 by Growlerwerks is a unique device and it's great for people like me who only wish to drink a 4-5 ounces of beer in a session; however, the uKeg is ridden with QC issues. The new design should render the older QC reviews obsolete, but my issue involves, specifically, the regulator cap.

After the first 3 uses of my Ukeg, each and every one of my Co2 cartridges would rupture upon replacement. The customer service team instructed me to replace the seals, then reassemble the regulator cap. After following these instructions, it still prematurely pierces the cartridge, thereby expelling all of the Co2 from the chamber.

I requested a replacement regulator cap, but no one ever responded to my email. I purchased the Ukeg to add a level of convenience to my casual beer consumption. If you are interested in diagnosing a litany of issues when the keg falters, then this product may serve you well. If you are looking for a convenient way to consume smaller quantities of beer, then I would recommend staying away from this product.
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So Close to being an amazing Product, but it was misassembled in manufacturing.
by Thomas Larson (3 out of 5 stars)
May 10, 2018

It just took a little mech skills to get it to work:

Here's how my experience went. I got the product, went through the instructions, tried it out (with water). Instantly lost the CO2. Tried again faster and got the CO2 into the tank, but it only got to 5 psi and couldn't get all the water out through the tap (for reference it can hold between 0 and 15 psi). Took another look at the instructions, went through trouble shooting and online reviews (which were highly mixed). Started to think I bought a lemon, sadly as a wedding gift. I took it into the machine shop where I work, got new O-rings. Started taking the Cap apart, and noticed the "Piecer O-Ring" was Off seat (see attached photo). Took the "Piercer" out and the "High Side Pin" looked wonky. Sure enough it was installed upside down. Flipped it over, reassembled everything using a tiny amount of Cisco Oil for o-ring Lube, put the first cartage in and SUCCESS!!! held like a dream. I ran 4 tanks through back to back and then left a full tank of water pressurized for overnight on my counter with no issues. I'm a little miffed that I had to take it apart to get it to work, but I am very excited I get to show up to the Rehearsal Dinner with it filled with beer. So close to being a 5 star product, or a 1 start, so I'll average them.

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