Are you hoping to recreate the beer drinking experience at your favourite pub at home for yourself, your friends, and/or guests? You might want to consider purchasing a beer keg refrigerator, or a kegerator. This specialized fridge allows you to keep kegs of draft beer cool, fresh and carbonated for several months by using carbon dioxide to pressurize the keg.
While kegerators can be used for personal or business purposes, they are generally the preferred storage option for business operators for their cost-efficiency. Large kegerators can house 5 gallon kegs, thus sidestepping all the packaging costs involved when purchasing all the bottles and cans needed to store equivalent volumes of beer. Kegerators can also be used to store and dispense wine, coffee, kombucha and soda (different liquids require different modifications to the system, however).
Kegerators come in various sizes, prices and specifications (they typically come with a stainless steel keg, a CO2 cylinder, a CO2 pressure regulator, a keg coupler (also known as a keg tap), a beer and air line, a tower, a drip tray, a shank, a faucet, a faucet handle), which be confusing for even seasoned keg users. We’ve helped narrow down your selection process by listing the top 5 kegerators current available on the market:
SPT BD-0538 Mini Kegerator & Dispenser
Housed in a sleek silver and black design, this stainless steel mini kegerator (which weighs 13.89 pounds) produces perfect pints with a simple handle pull. It is compatible with standard 5 liter kegs and 5L Heineken mini kegs, and comes equipped with an adjustable thermostat, thermoelectric cooling technology, and a LED temperature display. The SPT BD-0538 Mini Kegerator works best with a temperature range of 32-39 degrees Fahrenheit.
Its CO2 cartridge pressure control system includes three CO2 cartridges, keeping your beer at optimal chilliness for up to 30 days. The removable water drip tray makes the cleaning process so much easier.
Price: $159.99
Nostalgia KRS2100 5.1 Cubic-Foot Full Size Kegorator Draft Beer Dispenser
The Nostalgia KRS2100 is available in an elegant black or stainless steel finish, and can house full size kegs (15.5 gallons), 1/2-barrel kegs and pony kegs – any keg that is less than 26 inches in height. Its four swivel casters make it highly mobile and easily transportable to the clubhouse, pool or office (or wherever the party needs to be).
This keg comes with a semi-gloss black tap tower and a chrome guard rail to prevent glasses from falling off the counter top. You can use the thermostat to adjust the temperature and the single-gauge, medical equipment-grade CO2 regulator to adjust the pressure to produce the perfect pint – with the simple pull of the spring loaded, top-mounted tap.
Price: $384.30
EdgeStar Full Size Kegerator and Keg Beer Cooler
Like the Nostalgia KRS2100, the EdgeStar comes with a column draft tower, a drip tray, a chrome guard rail to prevent glasses from falling off the counter top, a modern black finish, and casters for easy, hassle-free mobility. It also features a protective metal floor plate for additional durability.
The EdgeStar is often the preferred choice of experienced beer enthusiasts, since its low temperature thermostat allows it to keep a full standard size keg full of beer chilled in the low 30s (and up to the mid-40s). It also manages to house a standard full size keg while being 4 inches less wide than the average standard full size kegerator. This space-saving measure is accomplished by having an external tank mount at the back of the EdgeStar, thus freeing up interior space.
Price: $459.00
Versonel VSL155TDSS Freestanding Kegerator & Beer Dispenser
The Versonel VSL155TDSS has a similar build to the Nostalgia KRS2100 and the EdgeStar. It features casters for convenient, hassle-free mobility, a chrome guard rail, a stainless steel top drip tray unit, and a single black tap tower and chrome tap font.
With a capacity of 6 cubic feet, the Versonel VSL155TDSS can easily store kegs of all sizes, and can also be converted to a standard bar fridge by simply taking out its two removable wire racks.
It also features a LCD digital temperature display up front, allowing you to ensure that your beer is being chilled at your preferred temperature (34 degrees to mid-40s). The sleek, minimalist stainless steel finishing allows you to inject some stylish sophistication to your living room bar or kitchen.
Price: $595.99
Kegco Dual Tap Freestanding Kegerator Beer Dispenser
This Kegco dispenser is the most expensive kegerator on this list, but the price tag is justified by its ability to dispense beer from multiple kegs at once via its dual tap feature. The Kegco Dual Tap Freestanding Kegerator beer dispenser can house one full size keg (15.5 gallons), one half size or quarter size barrel, two 1/6 barrels, or three home brew kegs.
Like the Versonel VSL155TDSS, the Nostalgia KRS2100 and the EdgeStar, it comes equipped with removable drip tray, a chrome guard rail to prevent mugs and glasses from falling off, and a (textured) serving counter top.
With its suave black cabinet, polished stainless steel door, sleek digital temperature display and forged brass faucets that gleam with a resplendent chrome finish, this Kegco dispenser is also a sight for sore eyes. It also comes with enhanced functionality: its deep chill function activates the compressor for 24 hours to swiftly chill a warm keg. You can also remove its two adjustable shelves to convert it into a refrigerator.
Price: $626.84
How to Install and Setup Your New Kegerator
This 5 minute video shows you how a kegerator works, how to install it and how to set it up to perfectly cool down different types of beer and beer brands. Not all of them are necessarily this hard to set up and if you don’t want to do it yourself, ask the retailer or manufacturer to do it for you.
The post The 5 Best Beer Keg Refrigerators (Kegerators) 2016 appeared first on PotatoFeed.com.