While one could argue that tailgating is a year-round activity, with nothing more than a few friends, a parking spot and some snacks and beverages needed to qualify it as such, it’s widely accepted that real tailgating is tied to pre-football game rituals. And that means the season is kicking off now.
 
There’s no shortage of resources available with tips and tricks for a successful tailgate. Need ideas for pre-game activities? Check out this list of the best tailgating games. Want to be sure your snacks hit the mark? Read up on the most popular appetizers for every state. We won’t claim to be experts on all aspects of this time-honored tradition, but there’s one thing we do have very strong feelings about. Beer.
 
There are certainly many elements to tailgating, but beer alone can make or break the experience. More specifically, beer temperature. Sure, you can throw your beer in a cooler and it may stay cold enough to enjoy, but it’s best to reserve your cooler space for water or Gatorade. Or for keeping perishables like deviled eggs or potato salad from poisoning you on hot autumn afternoons.
 
Your best bet is to fill up your uKeg with your beer of choice. Then just pull it from the fridge on game day and it will stay icy cold all day long. Or at least, until you pour it…
 
Which brings us to the next point. If you’ve done the right thing by keeping your beer in a uKeg, don’t blow it by serving it in plastic cups where it’ll get warm within minutes. Get yourself some uPints and keep your drink perfect from the first sip to the last. And if (or more likely, when) your cup gets nailed by a wayward cornhole beanbag and tips over, you’ll suffer less spillage since uPints come equipped with a handy sipping lid. Win, win.
 
To recap, and in the spirit of back-to-school season, we’ve put together a little equation to help you remember the key to success:
 
uKeg + uPint = uWin the tailgating experience
 
Feel free to put that on a flashcard and laminate it.