It’s Hip to be SquareKeg: Spokane’s Tim Loucks has created a growler that’s the perfect fit

BY MORGAN MARIE

Some people find creativity in games. Others find it with alcohol.

Spokane entrepreneur and founder of SquareKeg, Tim Loucks, has combined the two.

“My brain never sleeps,” Loucks said.

Sound familiar?

Taking its name from the game which spawned its discovery, the Tetris Effect is when an individual focuses on one thing for such a long time that their brain begins to try and solve the problem being faced subconsciously and even unconsciously. Research shows that games can follow players to sleep, where they can begin to arrange items in their dreams in order to figure out how things might fit best, solving the problems they encountered during their waking hours.

Loucks says he has always been creative, but while he is not an avid Tetris player, his mind certainly saw a gap in the market when one night in 2017, he pictured what he describes as a “Lego wall of kegs that fit together perfectly.” Upon waking up the next morning, designs were drawn and concepts were in motion for the first ever keg that was square, hence the name.

“Round kegs waste a whole lot of space and they aren’t designed to stack well,” notes Loucks.

Next time you’re out at a local bar or brewery, take a look at how the kegs are stored. Whether stacked vertically or on their sides, there’s a lot of empty space that would be better filled with beer!

Originally, the invention was designed for restaurants and bars. However, like most businesses the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to pivot a bit. Suddenly SquareKeg shifted their energy to a product for individual consumers looking for a better way to store and to transport beer.

The SquareOne was born.

SquareOne holds up to 128 ounces–the equivalent of two standard growlers–of just about any drink you might want to keep fresh on demand in your fridge or on-the-go.

Although the original intent was for beer, they’ve seen customers use it for mixed drinks, kombucha, cold brew coffee and even iced tea. It is designed to be used just about anywhere one desires–at home in the fridge, as a cooler taken camping or kept close at hand while tailgating with friends.

The kegs are stainless steel and should last a lifetime ensuring that durability and sustainability are at the forefront of their mission. If you’re utilizing it for beer, the idea is that you fill it anywhere you might refill a growler now.

Pressurized using a 16 gram, threaded CO2 cartridge, SquareOne can keep beer fresh for up to a few weeks, longer than the three days one can expect from a traditional glass growler!

Members of Spokane’s beer community were helpful test subjects as Loucks developed and tweaked the product. Loucks says people connected with the why behind it instantaneously and the product caught like wildfire.

Even local breweries, such as River City and Brick West, lent a hand in the testing process.

“The idea and aesthetic of SquareKeg is fun, sleek and original. We’ve had Tim down here at the brewery selling them during our Monday night markets and people loved them," says Brick West Brewing’s Marketing Director Bill Powers. "You can speak to Tim once and you’ll know immediately the passion he has for SquareKeg. It shows with the product,”

The SquareKeg team is proud to be headquartered in Spokane, and Loucks enjoys educating his global partners on our city. In the past few years, SquareKeg has shipped its products to all 50 states and internationally, stretching the reach of Spokane’s love of beer beyond just sharing “yeast samples” across state lines.

And in true Spokane fashion, Loucks corresponds with customers via email himself as the founder, even though SquareKeg has grown exponentially. He has dreams of continuing that as part of the company’s core values as they expand, like he’s sharing a drink with everyone who enjoys their SquareKeg.

“We absolutely love having direct contact with our consumers,” Loucks said. “We like to keep it personal.”

Loucks confirms that he and the SquareKeg team have plenty of ideas and inventions in the pipeline for consumers to imbibe more conveniently and for businesses to operate more efficiently, but even now, it’s exciting to think that people around the world can enjoy a bit of Spokane’s drink culture anywhere they take their SquareKeg.

You can follow @SquareKeg on social media and their website: thesquarekeg.com.