Kegerator Buying Guide

Beer aficionados, coffee addicts, and wine connoisseurs, consider every detail in pursuit of their passions. How their drinks of choice are served can have an impact on flavor, and some cold beverages just taste better out of a tap. Kegerators keep beverages fresh, perfectly aerated, and always at the ideal serving temperature.

All it takes to experience your favorite on-tap drinks at home is a keg to pour from, the appropriate dispenser set up, and a refrigerator to keep it cool, which is exactly what you get with a kegerator. These specifically designed refrigerators not only hold multiple sized kegs of your chosen beverage, they do so at a specific temperature, alongside the tanks that allow it all to be dispensed directly from the keg, with just a pull of a faucet lever. It is the easy, classy way to enjoy your favorite beverage at home.

Types of Kegerators

The Mini Kegerator

The countertop-sized mini kegerator dispenser cools and pours from the smallest of kegs. It is designed to be portable and can follow you from breakfast brunch to football tailgater with the right power accessories. It’s great for the beginner kegmaster or as a portable fallback for the seasoned pro, coming in at a much lower retail price than the larger kegerators. The downside to this convenient companion appliance is that it can be hard to find your favorite beverages in the 1.32 gallon mini-keg size. Be sure to check local availability before you buy a mini-kegerator.

The Freestanding Kegerator

These kegerators can hold up to a full-sized keg. The savvy shopper will look for a freestanding kegerator unit with locking caster wheels so their brew can be wheeled to the den or placed at the most convenient point in the kitchen without a lot of fuss. They are large enough to hold multiple kegs and can be purchased in single, dual, or triple tap configurations. Keep in mind that these units require proper space for ventilation, so even with the mobility of casters, they will need a few inches of clearance at the back.

The Built-In Kegerator

Like the freestanding kegerator, built-in kegerator units are capable of holding a full-sized keg and multiple tap configurations. What sets them apart is that they have a front venting exhaust setup that allows them to be placed snug between cabinets.

The Outdoor Kegerator

Outdoor kegerator models combine the best elements of the freestanding units and the built-in units all in one. Kegerators rated for outdoor use can hold up to a full-sized keg inside a protected, durable refrigerator with the electric wiring and other components insulated for the harsher elements of outdoor living spaces, such as a covered patio or a pool house. They have a front-ventilation design that makes it easier to tuck them in an out of the way spot against a wall or in an outdoor kitchen.

Commercial Kegerators

Designed for the professional requirements of a bar or restaurant, commercial kegerators go beyond housing a keg or two. They also provide refrigeration storage for other items, like cans, bottles, or extra supplies. They are usually rated for indoor or outdoor use, and take up two or three times the space of the smaller, residential kegerators.

Tips For the Homebrewer

For the home-brewer, it’s important to keep in mind that it takes a few extra steps to move your home-brewed beer safely to a keg for dispensing. You will need to purchase a separate kit and specific refillable tanks for kegging your own beer before it can be set up in a kegerator. Some kegerators come equipped with refillable home-brew tanks to make this complicated process a little easier.

Keg Sizes

Most kegerators are designed to hold up to a full size keg, but what exactly does that mean?

Cornelius Keg

The Cornelius keg, otherwise known as the Corny keg, is one of the most common homebrew sizes. These are easy to fill and easy to clean, which adds to their popularity. It holds one-sixth of a barrel, or the equivalent of forty pints. The average kegerator can fit up to 3 corny kegs inside at once.

Full Size Keg

The full size keg is also known as a half barrel keg, or just as a “full keg.” It holds a half barrel, or 124 pints of beer. One full size keg will fit in the average kegerator.  

Oversized Keg

Some breweries prefer the oversized keg to the full keg. The oversized keg will hold a half barrel, or the same amount of beer as a full size keg, with a slight difference in the actual dimensions of the keg itself. As the name suggests, the diameter of the keg footprint is a larger 17” compared to the full size dimension of 16-⅛” wide.  

Pony Keg

Also called a quarter barrel keg, or a stubby quarter, the pony keg holds only one quarter of a barrel, or 62 pints, in a squat, short barrel. Most kegerators will hold only one pony keg at a time because of the wide base.

Slim-pony Keg

Standing much taller than a pony keg, the slim-pony keg will hold the same amount with a smaller footprint. Also called the slim quarter keg, these hold a quarter barrel, or 62 pints. One slim pony keg could fit in a kegerator with one sixth barrel keg or corny keg at one time.

Sixth Barrel Keg

The sixth barrel, or torpedo, keg holds one sixth of a barrel. That comes to 5.16 gallons, or 42 pints. Three sixth barrel kegs can be used in the average multi tap kegerator at one time.

Dispenser Types

With kegerator dispensers, the beverages are kept inside the pressurized kegs until you pull the tap lever and pour it. It isn’t magic that pulls the brew through the hoses, it is science. Kegerators dispense the beverages using either CO2 or nitrogen gas.

CO2 is the most common option for home brewers and beer aficionados. The fermentation process creates a natural level of CO2 when making the beer. Using CO2 to lift the brew to the tap is completely flavorless and preserves the natural carbonation of the beer, helping it maintain freshness in the keg longer. This is closer to the direct-pour taste, right out of the keg.

Nitrogen dispensers are commonly associated with dark beers, like stout or porters, but also help preserve flavors in other beverages like wine or coffee. They produce smaller bubbles in the drink as it is dispersed and result in a “creamy” effect for some brews. When poured with a slow-pour, stout faucet, it produces a thicker foaming head on the beer.

Kegerators will be sold and delivered preconfigured  for one specific type of dispenser gas, including that type’s tank, regulators, and faucet. Some models will be available with fittings for both, but it is important to know which dispense type you are looking for before you purchase.

Kegerator Basics

The home tap experience is the sum of the parts. While most kegerators come with everything you need to get started, there are some options and upgrades to consider.

Add-on Kegerator Casters & Handles

Keep your kegerator mobile for convenient use with the optional wheels and handles to guide it around. It is heavy, but with the right casters and handles, you can be sure you can place it where it best fits your use.

Digital Temperature Display

For the sake of your brew, it’s important to monitor the serving temp. A digital temperature display makes it easy to check and adjust as needed for the best results.

Dual Pressure Regulators

Multiple kegs in one kegerator will still need to be pressurized, and sometimes at different pressure levels. Dual pressure regulators are helpful in monitoring both settings.

Multiple Taps

Coffee and wine in one kegerator? Sure! Just get a kegerator large enough to hold multiple kegs and make sure it has dual or triple tabs to serve from. For a completely custom kegerator setup, you can have multiple taps that connect to different beverages and their individual dispenser gases. For instance, a kegerator with one tap for an ale brew connected to a CO2 tank can also have a tap that dispenses a dark porter using nitrogen and a stout faucet.     

Faucets & Handles

Yes, even these are customizable. Some faucets are designed to be used with CO2 and some are specifically for nitrogen. Faucets can be upgraded from chrome plated to a heartier stainless steel that is NSF approved and food safety compliant. You can purchase completely unique handle pulls with brand labels to denote the beverage you have on tap, or they can be traditional pull handles; it just depends on your style.

Kegerator Cleaning Kits

A good brew should be poured through clean lines. The kegerator cleaning kits help keep your tap free of flavor build up and other problems that naturally occur with repeated use.

Finding Space for a Kegerator

Have wheels, will travel - but use the kegerator’s freedom wisely. You want to choose the kegerator that will hold the number of kegs - and the size kegs - that you will enjoy, but it’s just as important to consider the space required in your home. Larger kegerators need larger spaces, obviously, but not just for the physical footprint of the unit.

Kegerators require enough space to have easy access for cleaning. This involves keeping the surface shiny and free of sticky beer debris, as well as keeping the hoses and internal connections running smoothly.

Another space consideration is the venting system on a kegerator. Like any refrigerator, there needs to be appropriate space between the wall and the unit for ventilation airflow. Keeping the kegerators too close to a cabinet can make the venting systems work too hard and shorten the unit’s lifespan.

Kegerators, like refrigerators, also use fans that can make noise. If you have a quiet space, the white noise generated by the cooler can be distracting, so be sure to place it in an area where the extra sounds won’t be intrusive.

Kegerator Costs

Like many appliances, kegerators come priced for their features, quality, size and versatility. There are other factors that influence prices.

For instance, a freestanding unit will likely be less expensive than a built-in unit. They require a different cooling system, different energy use requirements, and even the material that makes up the cabinet itself are different.

An outdoor kegerator is sealed and insulated differently than a residential model designed for an air conditioned environment.

Commercial kegerators, with their larger capacity and other enhanced features, will generally be the more expensive models. Prices will also vary between brands.

So what makes a kegerator worth the price tag?

• Better taste - Taproom-quality beverages served right in your home, kept fresh and cool.
• Lower price-per-glass - If you’re going to spend the money on your drinks anyway, why pay the middle man?
• Save money on bottles, cans, and recycling fees - You’re not going to use that aluminum can ever again, so why buy it when you can have a ready supply of your favorite drink waiting to be poured from the keg?
• Save on space in your refrigerator - There’s no need for those 24 packs to take up shelf space in the kitchen fridge.
• Save the environment - A keg at home means fewer trips to the store or the bar for a restock, and fewer trips to the recycling center to turn in empty bottles and cans.