Growler Werks UKeg Review

The Liquid Lab Team gave the GrowlerWerks an overall average rating of just over 8.5 out of 9 planets! When a product is well-made, well-supported, made-in-the-USA, looks bad-ass and just flat out works at keeping your drinks anything BUT FLAT - it's going to be an astronomical hit! Read each individual review below:

Mike (aka drip-all-day): I am going to start this review with a blanket statement:  I LOVE BEER.  Now that I got that out of the way…  I am typically not a huge growler person because I find that the beer always has a flat taste, let alone when you let it sit for a day or two.  So, to say that I was skeptical going into this would be an understatement. Upon initial contact, it was love at first sight.  Pulling the uKeg out of the box it became clear that a great amount of thought was taken in designing the over aesthetic of the growler.  The steel finish with the brass accents gives it an incredible look. In practice is where the uKeg really shinned.  Setup and filling is a breeze.  The carbonation mechanism really seems to work perfectly.  The pour is smooth and consistent and as long as you have the carbonation dialed-in you can get a perfect head every time.   The true test however was when I left a full uKeg in the fridge for a week (this was tougher than it sounds).  The beer that flowed out tasted the same as it did the day it left the brewery. This is a MUST HAVE for any beer enthusiast.  Whether you are a Micro-brew junky or a home brewer the uKeg is a perfect drinking companion.  I would say that if you are into changing flavors often or a slower drinker the uKeg 64(4-5 beers) would be perfect.  I think for myself the larger uKeg 128(8-10 beers) is the way to go.  This is a welcome addition to the family! 9 out of 9 Planets!

Stella (aka the Sipper):

Full disclosure - not a beer drinker - BUT, i do drink cider so I used this bad-ass Keg for a couple pints of fresh cherry cider (NOTE: that’s not a Rose’ in the picture!)  Let me first brag about my discipline not to drink all of it in a day, but rather a small glass every night for 7 nights to test the GrowlerWerks keg’s ability to truly keep a drink fresh.  I tried not to be swayed by just how cool I felt walking into my local filling station with this thing – but let’s not deny there’s some vanity here – it’s just simply cool looking.  But above the aesthetics, I couldn’t be more impressed with the final product, even after 7 days! Truly, the cider came out just as tasty as it went in – AMAZING.  It was easy to use, but I admit that I did look through some videos for some tips, and it was very helpful.  My one failure was not tightening the cartridge holder tight enough, so upon my first spin to carbonate, nothing happened (which is why I ventured online).  User error for sure. So in nutshell, great product, great company (made in the USA – Portland-style), super easy to use, an outrageous cool factor and incredible durability make for an 8.75 out of 9 planets for me.  The last 1/4 of a planet would cost them a slightly better no-drip spout (the handle lock easily gets sticky and come-on boxed wine even has this figured out) and a slightly better price point, but now I’m just kinda being a jerk. There’s a lot more that you can do with this little gem like force carbonate wine, apple juice or your own home brew for a bubblier beverage and I hear you can pre-make gin and tonics (avec the lime) that stays fresh for over a week– so that’s next up for this non-beer drinker -  Happy carbonating!

Paul (aka Pour-Over Paul): No more flat beer for me I was able to check out the GrowlerWerkz pressurized growler recently from the liquid lab and decided I would bring it to the local growler fill shop. It sure was a conversation starter. After enjoying a pint, it was time to head home and fire up the barbecue so I treated myself to an organic IPA for the road. The GrowlerWerkz fills like a normal growler so there was not much explaining to do to the busy beer tender. The magic happens when you slip a C02 charger in the cap of the growler and it screws down tightly to seal the beer inside like any other growler. When the cap is secured, you dial in, and adjust the amount of pressure it receives. A pressure gauge on the bottom shows exactly how much pressure is inside. When my friends asked what it was, I was forced to pour off a few samples and do an impromptu demo of how it works - that was a hoot. I got home and put the growler in the fridge and fired up my grill. Unfortunately, I had little room for a beer with dinner and called it a night. The beer stayed fresh in my fridge until I barbecued about a week later. As fresh as the day I bought it. I cannot wait to try the pressurized growler with mixed drinks and an thinking about adding some eggnog or making a festive White Russian for the holidays.  8 out of 9 planets.

Orbital Bliss Factor:  The craft beer phenomenon has exploded in America over the last 15 years.  Do you have a beer lover in your life who has about 15 glass growlers sitting in their garage?  If you do, this is the gift for them, without question. I LOVE beer almost as much as my wife and sometimes more even than that when its combined with football on Sundays. Often, when I buy a growler it does not get finished in one sitting.  Anyone who has been in this predicament before knows that when you use your standard growler, the beer is flat once its been opened and exposed to oxygen.  Not with the UKeg!  I poured about a 1/2 glass each day over a 6 day span & was floored with the results. The instruction book was incredibly helpful in letting you know how much pressure you should have depending on the style of beer you had chosen.  I enjoyed "tweaking" the dial on the cap to keep the carbonation just where I wanted it.  Each beer was carbonated and tasted as fresh as the first sip I had days earlier. My next test was to see how the "wrench" would work for taking apart the unit for a thorough cleaning.  It fit like a glove.  I was able to take to growler apart and put it back together to complete functionality with no trouble all.  While putting it back together, I started thinking of all of the carbonated beverages (Gin & Tonic, Moscow Mule, Whiskey Coke) that I could put in here and share with a group of friends over a period of days.  This little beauty will store any carbonated beverage you can think of!!!!!  The more I thought about it, the bigger my smile got.  I was so pleasantly surprised at everything this unit offered and had potential for, my billfold started twitching.  My testing phase was quickly turning into a purchasing phase. I would be remiss not to tell you that the Growlerwerk website has some incredibly helpful videos for any questions you may have regarding how the unit works.  They also have some great recipe ideas on there too! Dent in the halo:  It ain't cheap. $129 for 1/2 gallon and $199 for the full gallon is a chunk of change for a beer growler. Also, you have to use 1 Co2 charge each time you use the unit (just under a dollar a unit for a box of 10 charges at www.liquidplanet.com).  There was enough pressure left in the cartridge, even after storing beer for 6 days, to flush warm soapy water through the entire system after I was finished drinking the beer.  I liked getting a little bit more out of that fully recyclable Co2 canister. When I stopped to think of all of the wonderful beer I had let go flat in my standard growlers that ended up down the sink drain, the cost more than justified itself.  I'm guessing I'll have paid for this unit in saved waste alone in less than a year. 9 perfect planets

← Previous Post Next Post →