I have had the 128 ManCan for several years. I love it. I bought a tap off Ebay for $35. then the cartridges. Once you get use to it you can pour beer very nicely. This works great if you have a fridge in the garage for that extra storage. At one time, ManCan had a complete unit for $100. with tap and all. That was an exceptional deal. I bought that but gave it to a friend for his birthday. Not sure if ManCan is in business anymore but if you can pick one up, it is awesome.
The “valve thing”, which is the tap lock, will NOT stick if you simply wash it off once in a while. It gets stuck from sticky/dry beer in/on it. I’ve had 2 keg 128’s for 3 years now, use them at least once or twice a month, I have had to take one of the pressure regulators apart once to clean it out. It took me 15 minutes, has worked perfectly since. Cleaning a keg could NOT be easier. When you finish the beer, turn off the regulator, open and wash out inside with water, then fill 1/2 ways up with water, put cap back on and turn on regulator (there should be some pressure left in the co2). Simply open the tap and let some clean water run thru it for a minute. DONE! Takes 45 seconds. So you need to go back to the drawing board. I have nothing to do with the company... but I LOVE the ukegs.
I have the 128 ounce UKeg and love it. Never had any of these problems mentioned. Its a great little system to take out to friends house for my own better beer. It is not totally flawless but much better looking system. The beer stays cold and the sight glass is a selling feature to me. They will all foam if you carry it around. Pour your beer let it sit in cooler for couple hours and gently take it to a party. Remember CO2 will not stay in suspension if shook up. Cheers.
on that ManCan it makes me wonder...when you pop off the co2 and the other hose constantly. You are eventually going to wear that rubber out....and will that rubber eventually turn to goo like my 1960s soda bottle rubber did....Great looking bottle cannot find any of the rubber parts to fix it....just worried in a few years that unit will have the same issues???? Maybe not?
Very cool stuff. I don't have either. I buy in 32 oz growlers vs. 64s. That way if you only have a couple pints, the other 32 is still uncapped and stays longer. It costs a bit more per ounce, but there's no CO2 to buy or system cleaning to deal with. Cheers, and thanks for the review!
Novel ides. There aren't any growler filling stations in the DC area. back in the early 20th century they would go to the bar and buy buckets of beer to take home.
When i put the cartridge in the sleeve and screwed the sleeve closed all the gas came out, and that’s with the dial set to closed. Anyone have this issue?
One more other thing, run hot water on the tap lock and move it back and forth so beer doesn't dry in it and get stuck. I clean my uKeg with hot water after I empty it. I put the regulator cap and the cartridge holder in hot water as well. Also I run a pint of hot water through the tap, I always have enough Co2 to finish the whole ukeg. I've never had a single problem with it so far.
I wanted to update on my ukeg a year later. My uKeg 128 that I bought last year in March will no longer hold pressure. It leaks at the cap seal no matter what (verified with soapy suds), I have replaced the cap seal multiple times to no avail. I took a good hard look at the inside of the ukeg neck and realized that the cap over the year has been damaging the ukeg, there is a noticable lip on the inside of the neck where the cap seals to the ukeg on half of it and the other half there is no lip it is essentially permanently warped through just normal usage. You can also see the scoring and damage that the cap has caused over the last year. In addtion to that I looked at my other ukeg64 which is a few months younger than my 128 and the same thing is starting to happen on that one as well. I reached out to Growlerwerks for a replacement today and and I am curious as to what they say.
It's really nice to transport just the keg part of the ManCan by detaching the hose and regulator. Both of those pieces are easy to clean and store when detached. In fact you can detach both between uses if you just want to store the ManCan in the fridge and use less space. The only thing the uKeg offers over the ManCan is the ability to adjust the internal pressure. which can come in handy at times.
It looks like this guy received an older Ukeg unit, probably purchased prior to the company correcting all of the issues he is mentioning. Much like anything else with the level internal complexities of these two units, they require basic upkeep. Rinse it out and flush with warm water after every use; tap, cap, internals and all -which you should do with any growler/keg. You DO NOT have to tear this thing down piece by piece, it was made for longevity. If you do this you should have no issues other than basic wear and tear(O-rings and such). Love my Ukeg and wouldnt trade it for anything.
It takes me around a week to finish the contents of my ManCan 128. Most of the beers I drink are over 10% abv, so I need to give my liver some time to rest.
Once you open a non-pressurized growler I would say you have 2-3 days to drink it all. With one of these pressurized ones you can leave the beer in the fridge for weeks. The longest I've had beer in mine is for around 2 weeks and the last pint still tasted fresh.
could you switch the tap tops between the mancan 128 and the mancan 64? i was wondering because this video made me buy a mancan and i would like to just buy 1 tap lid for both sizes.
The cap is interchangeable between the 128 and 64. The only issue may be the length of the attached tube. If it is already sized for the 128 then the extra length can just coil at the bottom of the 64. However a tube sized for the 64 will not reach the bottom of the 128. The interchangeable caps is one of the reasons I bought my ManCan's. Hope that helps and enjoy your beer.
Hi James, I just got the Mancan Machismo 128, and I'm noticing the same thing that you mention in the video... a lot of foam. Is this an inherent flaw or is there a way to remedy this? Thanks!
The problem is that the regulator is not variable so you can't control the amount of CO2 being added to the keg. I recently bought a new variable regulator to force carbonate my home brew, which also helps reducing the amount of head when pouring a beer. There are many different variable regulators on the market, but I went with this one. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N6B01RW
Does this company also make the other half of the kit that the beer comes out of? I hate the idea of buying a $130 kit from ManCan and only using half of it.
There are a bunch of companies that make these now. You can even mix and match the growler with any number of standard regulators. www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=pressurized+growler
I've had beer in both growlers for a week and they both were still fresh on the last pour. I would assume if the growler remained sealed an pressurized it would keep the beer fresh longer, but for the life of me I can't seem to stop myself from drinking it to test that theory.
+Thomas Hannah - It is perfectly safe if you use food quality co2 cartridges. These are the same ones people use to make fizzy water and whipped cream.
To get rid of the extra foam on the Mancan open the release valve for a few seconds to get rid of the extra CO2. That should eliminate that extra foam. Try it and see
Thanks for the tip. I think I solved that issue by replacing the regulator with a variable one I found on Amazon. I couldn't find the exact one, but it was similar to this one. www.amazon.com/BrewQube-Adjustable-Heavy-Bodied-Regulator/dp/B07BTPRBSR/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1531833197&sr=8-1&keywords=BrewQube
Agree, kind of dumb marketing. At one point they did release a WoManCan. www.craftbrewingbusiness.com/news/mancan-pink-boots-society-raise-money-beer-growler/
I agree with the unneeded attention. I felt like I needed to carry around a bunch of GrowlerWerks business cards and I really hated having to justify the cost over a standard glass growler.
Yes I like to see a demonstration on The Growers in making Root Beer soda pop ultimately I want to make soda pop and have the whole unit in my refrigerator. Honestly everyone talks about beer they do not talk about the basics soda water I do believe these things can make soda water.
I don't see why it couldn't be used to make soda water, since you can use it to carbonate your home brew. You would just have to dial up the pressure and let it sit for a few days.
The Growlerwerks is a complete fail. I bought one - it is merely a foam dispenser. The people at Growlerwerks refused to accept a return and would not refund my $$$. If anyone still wants opne, I'll be happy to sell you mine - it has ONE attempted use on it.
I don't own either product , but I feel like the review was biased and provided poor information. For example, from the video I presume that the 64ox ManCan has a plastic hose in it as well. I also understand that the UKeg feeds without any plastic in the system. Also, you show removing the pressure parts on the larger ManCan for refrigerator storage which in my opinion will kill your beer. You talk about the head from the ManCan like it's all good. Why would I want to foam my beer away? Anyhow maybe somebody with a uKeg would care to comment.
Given that I own both of these products and have used them extensively it is hard not to be biased given my personal experiences. Let me answer your questions as best I can. 1. The ManCan does have a plastic hose to extract the beer that is easily cleaned or replaced with new hose if needed. 2. I was trying to show that you could keep your beer cold in the fridge by initially using the metal cap instead of the regulator. When you are ready to drink your beer in a group then take it out and replace it with the regulator. I agree that going back and forth will kill your beer. I have since lowered the shelf in my fridge so the large unit fits with the regulator, so for me this is no longer an issue. 3. I didn’t mean to make is sound like a too large of a head is a good thing. The ManCan does pour out the first beer with more head than I like, but subsequent pours are fine. The uKeg does shine here with the ability to vary the pressure going into the keg. 4. Other owners have commented previously and it seems that some people love the uKeg and some people hate it. I don’t hate it myself, but I no longer use it given the maintenance needed to keep it running. Thanks for your feedback and I hope I’ve answered your questions.
I appreciate your candid response. Have the replacement parts delivered from UKeg? I came across your channel while trying to warrant spending the money on one of these kegs and I don't like plastic around my food. I look forward to your updates and input from others.
So you have a Mancan too? Otherwise not sure how you can say fuck it unless you've used it. Unless your just butthurt that you bought the growlerwerks without researching it first
From purely aesthetics alone, uKeg FTW. The Mankeg looks like it was designed by children in 1994. So much plastic! Also, you mentioned you had to pressurize it to run water through it to clean it. That's false.
Come on man, at least TRY to be objective. uKeg is absolutely cleanable. You can run clear water through and it will flow - slowly - but will flow. And you can always take it apart as well - including the regulator. l You can't just say "I don't have a 128 oz but it might not fit" as a negative comment if you don't have it - and you didn't bother closing the refrigerator door to show how all that mancan crap hanging off of it actually fits.
+tankminder - Thanks for the feedback. I'll try to keep to the facts next time. I didn't say it wasn't cleanable, but just a pain in the ass to completely clean.
Gee Mancan ? you can get those on ebay without the Mancan label direct form china. No pressure gauge. I just rinse my Growerwerks immediately and rinse the tap just by filling it full and tilt it to rinse glass.
+Frank Z - I said I liked the uKeg. If you watched my follow-up video you would have seen that I got an earlier version that doesn't have all the updates found in the current version. I still think the uKeg has way to many parts for long term use and maintenance. I'll order some of the eBay versions of the ManCan and see how they compare quality wise. In many cases these Chinese companies just knock off existing products. In this case I don't know which came first, but if ManCan is just relabeling a cheaper Chinese product then their company will not be around very long.
I have had the 128 ManCan for several years. I love it. I bought a tap off Ebay for $35. then the cartridges. Once you get use to it you can pour beer very nicely. This works great if you have a fridge in the garage for that extra storage. At one time, ManCan had a complete unit for $100. with tap and all. That was an exceptional deal. I bought that but gave it to a friend for his birthday. Not sure if ManCan is in business anymore but if you can pick one up, it is awesome.
The “valve thing”, which is the tap lock, will NOT stick if you simply wash it off once in a while. It gets stuck from sticky/dry beer in/on it. I’ve had 2 keg 128’s for 3 years now, use them at least once or twice a month, I have had to take one of the pressure regulators apart once to clean it out. It took me 15 minutes, has worked perfectly since. Cleaning a keg could NOT be easier. When you finish the beer, turn off the regulator, open and wash out inside with water, then fill 1/2 ways up with water, put cap back on and turn on regulator (there should be some pressure left in the co2). Simply open the tap and let some clean water run thru it for a minute. DONE! Takes 45 seconds. So you need to go back to the drawing board. I have nothing to do with the company... but I LOVE the ukegs.
I have the 128 ounce UKeg and love it. Never had any of these problems mentioned. Its a great little system to take out to friends house for my own better beer. It is not totally flawless but much better looking system. The beer stays cold and the sight glass is a selling feature to me. They will all foam if you carry it around. Pour your beer let it sit in cooler for couple hours and gently take it to a party. Remember CO2 will not stay in suspension if shook up. Cheers.
on that ManCan it makes me wonder...when you pop off the co2 and the other hose constantly. You are eventually going to wear that rubber out....and will that rubber eventually turn to goo like my 1960s soda bottle rubber did....Great looking bottle cannot find any of the rubber parts to fix it....just worried in a few years that unit will have the same issues???? Maybe not?
Very cool stuff. I don't have either. I buy in 32 oz growlers vs. 64s. That way if you only have a couple pints, the other 32 is still uncapped and stays longer. It costs a bit more per ounce, but there's no CO2 to buy or system cleaning to deal with. Cheers, and thanks for the review!
Novel ides. There aren't any growler filling stations in the DC area. back in the early 20th century they would go to the bar and buy buckets of beer to take home.
When i put the cartridge in the sleeve and screwed the sleeve closed all the gas came out, and that’s with the dial set to closed. Anyone have this issue?
Can't help thinking that just getting real keg isn't way easier. Thanks for vid
The tap assembly comes apart on the uKeg as well.....
I would have never guessed, but it does come apart. Doesn't seem easy, but it is doable.
player.vimeo.com/video/160046319
One more other thing, run hot water on the tap lock and move it back and forth so beer doesn't dry in it and get stuck. I clean my uKeg with hot water after I empty it. I put the regulator cap and the cartridge holder in hot water as well. Also I run a pint of hot water through the tap, I always have enough Co2 to finish the whole ukeg. I've never had a single problem with it so far.
Thanks for the suggestion. I do usually try to clean it out pretty well, but I'll give running hot water over the tap lock a try going forward.
I wanted to update on my ukeg a year later. My uKeg 128 that I bought last year in March will no longer hold pressure. It leaks at the cap seal no matter what (verified with soapy suds), I have replaced the cap seal multiple times to no avail. I took a good hard look at the inside of the ukeg neck and realized that the cap over the year has been damaging the ukeg, there is a noticable lip on the inside of the neck where the cap seals to the ukeg on half of it and the other half there is no lip it is essentially permanently warped through just normal usage. You can also see the scoring and damage that the cap has caused over the last year. In addtion to that I looked at my other ukeg64 which is a few months younger than my 128 and the same thing is starting to happen on that one as well. I reached out to Growlerwerks for a replacement today and and I am curious as to what they say.
What did they say?
I like the man can even though its seems to be really Busy, with the hoses and parts.
It's really nice to transport just the keg part of the ManCan by detaching the hose and regulator. Both of those pieces are easy to clean and store when detached. In fact you can detach both between uses if you just want to store the ManCan in the fridge and use less space. The only thing the uKeg offers over the ManCan is the ability to adjust the internal pressure. which can come in handy at times.
When you take off the regulator do you lose pressure or allow oxygen to enter?
@@thestuffandthething92 You say the adjustable pressure is the only thing that the UK has over MC. Does MC have a sight glass for amount of beer left?
where can you buy t he flex tap?
Looks like Amazon sells something similar. www.amazon.com/FERRODAY-Assembly-Disconnect-Cornelius-Dispensing/dp/B07VVNRZHM/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=Ferroday&qid=1601343204&sr=8-8
It looks like this guy received an older Ukeg unit, probably purchased prior to the company correcting all of the issues he is mentioning. Much like anything else with the level internal complexities of these two units, they require basic upkeep. Rinse it out and flush with warm water after every use; tap, cap, internals and all -which you should do with any growler/keg. You DO NOT have to tear this thing down piece by piece, it was made for longevity. If you do this you should have no issues other than basic wear and tear(O-rings and such). Love my Ukeg and wouldnt trade it for anything.
PITA. Just buy a growler. Who takes more than a few days to drink growler?
It takes me around a week to finish the contents of my ManCan 128. Most of the beers I drink are over 10% abv, so I need to give my liver some time to rest.
How much longer does the beer stay fresh with these vs a typical growler?
Once you open a non-pressurized growler I would say you have 2-3 days to drink it all. With one of these pressurized ones you can leave the beer in the fridge for weeks. The longest I've had beer in mine is for around 2 weeks and the last pint still tasted fresh.
could you switch the tap tops between the mancan 128 and the mancan 64? i was wondering because this video made me buy a mancan and i would like to just buy 1 tap lid for both sizes.
The cap is interchangeable between the 128 and 64. The only issue may be the length of the attached tube. If it is already sized for the 128 then the extra length can just coil at the bottom of the 64. However a tube sized for the 64 will not reach the bottom of the 128. The interchangeable caps is one of the reasons I bought my ManCan's. Hope that helps and enjoy your beer.
Hi James,
I just got the Mancan Machismo 128, and I'm noticing the same thing that you mention in the video... a lot of foam. Is this an inherent flaw or is there a way to remedy this? Thanks!
The problem is that the regulator is not variable so you can't control the amount of CO2 being added to the keg. I recently bought a new variable regulator to force carbonate my home brew, which also helps reducing the amount of head when pouring a beer. There are many different variable regulators on the market, but I went with this one.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N6B01RW
+Todd S - I replaced the regulator with a variable one I found on Amazon. That fixed the issue by just turning down the pressure.
Does this company also make the other half of the kit that the beer comes out of? I hate the idea of buying a $130 kit from ManCan and only using half of it.
There are a bunch of companies that make these now. You can even mix and match the growler with any number of standard regulators.
www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=pressurized+growler
Any idea how long the beers stay "fresh" using either of the products?
I've had beer in both growlers for a week and they both were still fresh on the last pour. I would assume if the growler remained sealed an pressurized it would keep the beer fresh longer, but for the life of me I can't seem to stop myself from drinking it to test that theory.
Yeah same here. I figure if you have fresh beer why not drink it right? haha thanks for the insight by the way.
Is it safe to drink that with the co2?
+Thomas Hannah - It is perfectly safe if you use food quality co2 cartridges. These are the same ones people use to make fizzy water and whipped cream.
The Stuff And The Thing thanks man I appreciate it👍🏼
Ever drink a canned/bottled beer or a draft beer in a bar? Question answered.
You're not afraid its going to kill you, are you? How dare you?
OK for the people like me.... sloooow I now found your update to this video. I'll check it out, THX.
To get rid of the extra foam on the Mancan open the release valve for a few seconds to get rid of the extra CO2. That should eliminate that extra foam. Try it and see
Thanks for the tip. I think I solved that issue by replacing the regulator with a variable one I found on Amazon.
I couldn't find the exact one, but it was similar to this one.
www.amazon.com/BrewQube-Adjustable-Heavy-Bodied-Regulator/dp/B07BTPRBSR/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1531833197&sr=8-1&keywords=BrewQube
Great info. Thanks!
The Mancan is made so much better.
I love how the, Mancan" kills off half of its marketing potential.
Agree, kind of dumb marketing. At one point they did release a WoManCan. www.craftbrewingbusiness.com/news/mancan-pink-boots-society-raise-money-beer-growler/
I used mine maybe 8 times with 0 issues, And yes it gets a lot of Attention, Which I hate.
I agree with the unneeded attention. I felt like I needed to carry around a bunch of GrowlerWerks business cards and I really hated having to justify the cost over a standard glass growler.
Yes I like to see a demonstration on The Growers in making Root Beer soda pop ultimately I want to make soda pop and have the whole unit in my refrigerator. Honestly everyone talks about beer they do not talk about the basics soda water I do believe these things can make soda water.
I don't see why it couldn't be used to make soda water, since you can use it to carbonate your home brew. You would just have to dial up the pressure and let it sit for a few days.
Yea, I disagree with this. The Ukeg is amazing and alot easier to use (I have used both). The 128 in copper is beautiful and lasts for years.
The Growlerwerks is a complete fail. I bought one - it is merely a foam dispenser. The people at Growlerwerks refused to accept a return and would not refund my $$$. If anyone still wants opne, I'll be happy to sell you mine - it has ONE attempted use on it.
I don't own either product , but I feel like the review was biased and provided poor information.
For example, from the video I presume that the 64ox ManCan has a plastic hose in it as well. I also understand that the UKeg feeds without any plastic in the system. Also, you show removing the pressure parts on the larger ManCan for refrigerator storage which in my opinion will kill your beer. You talk about the head from the ManCan like it's all good. Why would I want to foam my beer away?
Anyhow maybe somebody with a uKeg would care to comment.
Given that I own both of these products and have used them extensively it is hard not to be biased given my personal experiences. Let me answer your questions as best I can. 1. The ManCan does have a plastic hose to extract the beer that is easily cleaned or replaced with new hose if needed. 2. I was trying to show that you could keep your beer cold in the fridge by initially using the metal cap instead of the regulator. When you are ready to drink your beer in a group then take it out and replace it with the regulator. I agree that going back and forth will kill your beer. I have since lowered the shelf in my fridge so the large unit fits with the regulator, so for me this is no longer an issue. 3. I didn’t mean to make is sound like a too large of a head is a good thing. The ManCan does pour out the first beer with more head than I like, but subsequent pours are fine. The uKeg does shine here with the ability to vary the pressure going into the keg. 4. Other owners have commented previously and it seems that some people love the uKeg and some people hate it. I don’t hate it myself, but I no longer use it given the maintenance needed to keep it running. Thanks for your feedback and I hope I’ve answered your questions.
I appreciate your candid response. Have the replacement parts delivered from UKeg?
I came across your channel while trying to warrant spending the money on one of these kegs and I don't like plastic around my food. I look forward to your updates and input from others.
So you have a Mancan too? Otherwise not sure how you can say fuck it unless you've used it. Unless your just butthurt that you bought the growlerwerks without researching it first
Nice video, thank you for this.
Excellent review!
+Survival Mindset - Thanks
Please get back to me on the comment below a little information would be helpful.
From purely aesthetics alone, uKeg FTW. The Mankeg looks like it was designed by children in 1994. So much plastic! Also, you mentioned you had to pressurize it to run water through it to clean it. That's false.
Steampunk art is fragile.
Come on man, at least TRY to be objective. uKeg is absolutely cleanable. You can run clear water through and it will flow - slowly - but will flow. And you can always take it apart as well - including the regulator. l You can't just say "I don't have a 128 oz but it might not fit" as a negative comment if you don't have it - and you didn't bother closing the refrigerator door to show how all that mancan crap hanging off of it actually fits.
+tankminder - Thanks for the feedback. I'll try to keep to the facts next time. I didn't say it wasn't cleanable, but just a pain in the ass to completely clean.
No mancan
Gee Mancan ? you can get those on ebay without the Mancan label direct form china. No pressure gauge. I just rinse my Growerwerks immediately and rinse the tap just by filling it full and tilt it to rinse glass.
+Frank Z - I said I liked the uKeg. If you watched my follow-up video you would have seen that I got an earlier version that doesn't have all the updates found in the current version. I still think the uKeg has way to many parts for long term use and maintenance. I'll order some of the eBay versions of the ManCan and see how they compare quality wise. In many cases these Chinese companies just knock off existing products. In this case I don't know which came first, but if ManCan is just relabeling a cheaper Chinese product then their company will not be around very long.
you need cold glasses.......fmd