I'm only two fills into my relationship with a copper Ukeg128, but mine exhibits no leaks. Drips from the tap are limited to the beer in the spout "downstream" from the valve (just like any commercial bar tap). So I'm a very happy camper!
Not sure if you have experienced this yet, but with my 128oz I have had a couple of leaks at 2 seal locations, 1 it started to leak at the Co2 cartidge piercer seal, and 2 it started leaking at the main cap seal. Both were fixed by taking them off coating them in keg lube but I didn't expect to have to lubing things this soon. I will say it seems like having keg lube is a MUST with these things.
Ben Diflo sorry for the delay, been traveling. But as mentioned in the vid I did have leaks around the copper handle where it hooks. Fixed by tightening it up a bit. Have not experienced CO2 leaks and that's a bummer as those cartridges aren't cheap. Have you reached out to them for assistance?
If you brew your own beer, this can be used to carbonate the beer too. You'd want to crank up the PSI to do that, and will likely need to use a new CO2 cartridge for pouring later. YMMV of course. Growlerworks has a lot of great videos on their site on how to do that.
I just ordered the copper plated 128oz one, cant wait for it to come in the mail! I hope I don't have leaking like you did, but I'm glad to hear that they are supportive!
Interesting note on the Teflon tape. Maybe the GW model for 2020 has worked out the kinks. Can you post a link to those replacement cartridges and the ones that will fit in this growler?
best video of the ones i wathed on this an obvious perk of the bigger one is ablity to use taller glass, beer looked good but had your homebrew carbonated at all or ws that freshly made uncarbonated.
Should I force carbonate my home brew before putting it into the growler or will this force carbonate the beer for me? I was thinking I would force carbonate it before and then transfer to growler to maintain the carbonation.
That is totally your call. With the uKeg maxing out at 15psi it would take some vigorous shaking to force carb. This may result in going through 2+ co2 cartridges which I believe wouldn’t be worth the hassle. However, depending on the style of home-brew you can set the psi to 10-12 and set aside in the fridge for a week if patient. This is what I typically do for my actual kegs of homebrew if not force carbing at 30-40psi.
Without one of these bad boys, I recommend filling 32 oz growlers vs. 64. If you only drink half a 64... the remainder will stale quickly, while a fresh 32 oz will stay much longer without having opened it. Yeah, 32s are a bit more expensive per ounce, but so is buying a CO2 cartridge with every refill.
I own several of these and i will admit it has the highest maintenance of all the growlers out there. but it is still my favorite. Just follow the instructions, Growlerwerks has great videos explaining everything
Frank Z I agree! My SS version only needed some tightening maintenance and has worked like a charm ever since. I recently acquired a copper 128oz and it hasn't had a single issue yet... except for the typical spout drips
Not true! Yes, some do but not all. I have 8 taps at home and each will maybe let a drop or two fall after a pint. The uKeg, continuous! Thankfully they have an accessory to assist instead of needing a roll of paper towels on standby
Will this product carbonate a home brew? If so, how long (2-3 days), what pressure, and can you do it with one cartridge? Great video. I want one, but won't get one unless I can carbonate my beer while the bottles sit and wait. :)
Kenneth Bedwell GrowlerWerks does claim that carbonating homebrew is possible but I have yet to try since I fill directly from a keg. Which is already carbonated. I have a buddy who brews one gal batches and has stated it does work like a charm, will have to collect that info to share with you soon
No offense, but I find it hard to feel comfortable with your recommendation at the end when you have received the item for free and are thus indirectly under their payroll. Mind you, I haven't seen any of your other material and maybe your followers are confident you are a trusted reviewer, but for me who watches your material for the first time I doubt very much you have made an honest no bs review. However, I thank you for a good presentation of the product.
Hey Brew Brotha! How has your experience been since you've posted this about 10 months ago? I've just purchased the 128oz copper. Pretty excited to bring this to my favorite tap house and being home something I won't need to IMMEDIATELY drink so it doesn't spoil. :) Curious to see how this bad boy has performed for you. Also, just to solve the "drip" problem when it's stored in the fridge and you take a pull, I was thinking of using an old wine cork carved down to fit the hole of the tap. Plug after the pull, bam! Not sure if it's a great solution, but who worth a shot. Also, I think I'm going to do a "test fill" with some water, charging it up and everything prior to bringing it in for a full 128oz fill. I'd rather lose a cartridge than an entire growler of good beer!
Hey thanks for circling back to this vid! I absolutely love my uKeg that I’ve added a second one (128 copper) to my arsenal! The drop issue has been resolved by Growlerwekrs as they now have tap Plugs for about $10z and also a bar mats for dripping as well. I use these for both commercial fills and homebrewing. They have a black chrome uKeg coming soon 😉
The copper is definitely sweet! So far this thing has been amazing and performed perfectly well. The longest I've gone with a fill is a bit over a week and the beer was still just as fresh as the day it came out.
The 64oz will fit perfectly of course but it all depends on the size of your fridge. The 128oz fits in mine just fine but I also have a mini fridge I can keep it in as well. Overall weight when filled is a guesstimate of about 5lbs (?)
I wanted to buy one of these but the comments I've read and heard say it's a hit or miss item...At this price I would think that everyone should be 100% non defective and thus I'll pass until they figure out a better way of producing these babies...
i agree with you - i've heard pos and neg about the quality control of the unit, and at it's price it SHOULD be 100%. fortunately, i've heard good things about their support, so i pulled the trigger and am awaiting my delivery of a 64.
Cost of fills depends on the beer, brewery and/or Bar. Whatever the source charges for a 64oz pour just times it by two. So with that being said, it could be cheap but it could also be expensive
Big Shannon! Good lookin' on the video man. I just received my uKeg 128 yesterday. I read every review TWICE and saw all the videos. I loved my 128 oz 4 hours into owning in UNTIL it sprung a LEAK FROM THE GOOSENECK. Thankfully I drink like a fish and saw your video about losing 1/2 of your product overnight. Short story, your video is dead on... but the product quality is inferior. The support team is responsive and they are sending parts, but I'm thirsty now. I have a ManCan that does not leak but it doesn't look as cool. BUYER BEWARE OF THIS PRODUCT.
Jaison Smith hey thanks for the comment! Honestly, I wouldn’t say Buyer Beware as this product kicks ass as I now own two of them! Once the support team sent the part to fix the gooseneck I’ve never had a single leak after. I actually went ahead and included the Beer mat and plugs. This is a beast and a conversation starter at breweries. I even package my homebrews for events and gatherings. I also own a ManCan but always steer to use the uKeg instead. Cheers
I'm only two fills into my relationship with a copper Ukeg128, but mine exhibits no leaks. Drips from the tap are limited to the beer in the spout "downstream" from the valve (just like any commercial bar tap). So I'm a very happy camper!
I just ordered a 128oz one, super excited for it to arrive! Came to UA-cam for more reviews and stumbled upon yours. Great review!
Ben Diflo awesome!!!! You will enjoy this
I liked my ukeg 128 so much I bought another ukeg, a copper 64oz. Cheers to a great looking and working invention!
Awesome! I acquired a second 128oz uKeg and went with the copper one as well
Not sure if you have experienced this yet, but with my 128oz I have had a couple of leaks at 2 seal locations, 1 it started to leak at the Co2 cartidge piercer seal, and 2 it started leaking at the main cap seal. Both were fixed by taking them off coating them in keg lube but I didn't expect to have to lubing things this soon. I will say it seems like having keg lube is a MUST with these things.
Ben Diflo sorry for the delay, been traveling. But as mentioned in the vid I did have leaks around the copper handle where it hooks. Fixed by tightening it up a bit. Have not experienced CO2 leaks and that's a bummer as those cartridges aren't cheap. Have you reached out to them for assistance?
If you brew your own beer, this can be used to carbonate the beer too. You'd want to crank up the PSI to do that, and will likely need to use a new CO2 cartridge for pouring later. YMMV of course. Growlerworks has a lot of great videos on their site on how to do that.
FWIW, the custom wrench is worth every penny if you don't already have it. Mine came with it and it makes maintenance so easy. Great growler!
I just ordered the copper plated 128oz one, cant wait for it to come in the mail! I hope I don't have leaking like you did, but I'm glad to hear that they are supportive!
Great company and very responsive via social media and email. Hope you enjoy the product as much as I do.
Interesting note on the Teflon tape. Maybe the GW model for 2020 has worked out the kinks.
Can you post a link to those replacement cartridges and the ones that will fit in this growler?
Awesome awesomeness love this growler Best Buy I ever made keeps beer FRESH. not like regular growlers were they just go stale way too fast.
My 16 gram CO2 cartridge got stuck in the sleeve. I had to use pliers to get it out, it fits far to tightly.
Thanks for the in depth video... been looking forward to buying one of these...
after filling with beer, do I have to refrigerate it? How long will it stay cold for?
best video of the ones i wathed on this an obvious perk of the bigger one is ablity to use taller glass, beer looked good but had your homebrew carbonated at all or ws that freshly made uncarbonated.
Should I force carbonate my home brew before putting it into the growler or will this force carbonate the beer for me? I was thinking I would force carbonate it before and then transfer to growler to maintain the carbonation.
That is totally your call. With the uKeg maxing out at 15psi it would take some vigorous shaking to force carb. This may result in going through 2+ co2 cartridges which I believe wouldn’t be worth the hassle. However, depending on the style of home-brew you can set the psi to 10-12 and set aside in the fridge for a week if patient. This is what I typically do for my actual kegs of homebrew if not force carbing at 30-40psi.
Great review. Thanks for uploading. Its been a year and a half since, do you still like it? Any problems arise?
Without one of these bad boys, I recommend filling 32 oz growlers vs. 64. If you only drink half a 64... the remainder will stale quickly, while a fresh 32 oz will stay much longer without having opened it. Yeah, 32s are a bit more expensive per ounce, but so is buying a CO2 cartridge with every refill.
Put the glass up to the spout and pour the beer into the side of the glass to keep from getting all foam (!)
i liked your video, but you named a beer after ojs?
I own several of these and i will admit it has the highest maintenance of all the growlers out there. but it is still my favorite. Just follow the instructions, Growlerwerks has great videos explaining everything
Frank Z I agree! My SS version only needed some tightening maintenance and has worked like a charm ever since. I recently acquired a copper 128oz and it hasn't had a single issue yet... except for the typical spout drips
ever notice the drip tray on all tap beer spigots everywhere ! any spigot of any type drips no matter what it dispenses
Not true! Yes, some do but not all. I have 8 taps at home and each will maybe let a drop or two fall after a pint. The uKeg, continuous! Thankfully they have an accessory to assist instead of needing a roll of paper towels on standby
Will this product carbonate a home brew? If so, how long (2-3 days), what pressure, and can you do it with one cartridge? Great video. I want one, but won't get one unless I can carbonate my beer while the bottles sit and wait. :)
Kenneth Bedwell GrowlerWerks does claim that carbonating homebrew is possible but I have yet to try since I fill directly from a keg. Which is already carbonated. I have a buddy who brews one gal batches and has stated it does work like a charm, will have to collect that info to share with you soon
Thanks for your prompt response. :)
Work for Ginger beer (homemade)?
Is it insulated?
No offense, but I find it hard to feel comfortable with your recommendation at the end when you have received the item for free and are thus indirectly under their payroll. Mind you, I haven't seen any of your other material and maybe your followers are confident you are a trusted reviewer, but for me who watches your material for the first time I doubt very much you have made an honest no bs review. However, I thank you for a good presentation of the product.
Hey Brew Brotha! How has your experience been since you've posted this about 10 months ago? I've just purchased the 128oz copper. Pretty excited to bring this to my favorite tap house and being home something I won't need to IMMEDIATELY drink so it doesn't spoil. :) Curious to see how this bad boy has performed for you. Also, just to solve the "drip" problem when it's stored in the fridge and you take a pull, I was thinking of using an old wine cork carved down to fit the hole of the tap. Plug after the pull, bam! Not sure if it's a great solution, but who worth a shot. Also, I think I'm going to do a "test fill" with some water, charging it up and everything prior to bringing it in for a full 128oz fill. I'd rather lose a cartridge than an entire growler of good beer!
Hey thanks for circling back to this vid! I absolutely love my uKeg that I’ve added a second one (128 copper) to my arsenal! The drop issue has been resolved by Growlerwekrs as they now have tap Plugs for about $10z and also a bar mats for dripping as well. I use these for both commercial fills and homebrewing. They have a black chrome uKeg coming soon 😉
The copper is definitely sweet! So far this thing has been amazing and performed perfectly well. The longest I've gone with a fill is a bit over a week and the beer was still just as fresh as the day it came out.
Great review. Lots of detail. Appreciate it!
I found the 16 Gram CO2 Replacement Cartridges on Ebay for $28.25 for a 20 Pack, Shipping Included
Can I have a copy of your IPA recipe
You are a natural at this!
I'm debating this one over the 64 how well does it fit in a fridge?and or weight once full is it still solid when transporting?
The 64oz will fit perfectly of course but it all depends on the size of your fridge. The 128oz fits in mine just fine but I also have a mini fridge I can keep it in as well. Overall weight when filled is a guesstimate of about 5lbs (?)
I wanted to buy one of these but the comments I've read and heard say it's a hit or miss item...At this price I would think that everyone should be 100% non defective and thus I'll pass until they figure out a better way of producing these babies...
i agree with you - i've heard pos and neg about the quality control of the unit, and at it's price it SHOULD be 100%. fortunately, i've heard good things about their support, so i pulled the trigger and am awaiting my delivery of a 64.
Also what does it cost to fill the 128oz
Cost of fills depends on the beer, brewery and/or Bar. Whatever the source charges for a 64oz pour just times it by two. So with that being said, it could be cheap but it could also be expensive
If it is Metal.. how does it taste for MEAD.. - since it is metal.
Its actually Stainless Steel and produces no ill affects for beer, wine or mead.
Big Shannon! Good lookin' on the video man. I just received my uKeg 128 yesterday. I read every review TWICE and saw all the videos. I loved my 128 oz 4 hours into owning in UNTIL it sprung a LEAK FROM THE GOOSENECK. Thankfully I drink like a fish and saw your video about losing 1/2 of your product overnight. Short story, your video is dead on... but the product quality is inferior. The support team is responsive and they are sending parts, but I'm thirsty now. I have a ManCan that does not leak but it doesn't look as cool. BUYER BEWARE OF THIS PRODUCT.
Jaison Smith hey thanks for the comment! Honestly, I wouldn’t say Buyer Beware as this product kicks ass as I now own two of them! Once the support team sent the part to fix the gooseneck I’ve never had a single leak after. I actually went ahead and included the Beer mat and plugs. This is a beast and a conversation starter at breweries. I even package my homebrews for events and gatherings. I also own a ManCan but always steer to use the uKeg instead. Cheers
Remember to only use CO2 cooking grade
It's not for me. I'm better off with a Minnie keg and gassing it up with my c02 tank with a disconnect on the out post.
Great review. You should get commission
Tony's Darts Away!
👍🏼 awesome review
I wouldn't risk it,I'd rather just buy a nice IPA
Two things:
1. Great video - very informative.
2. I love that table you have. Did you make it?
Cheers 🍻🍻🍺
james ryan thank you! And yes, the wife and I made the table ourselves and by staining and sealing it then had a welder build legs
Free the juice!!!
Nice, name a home brew after a thief/killer
that wasn't a pun...