Economies of Scale: The Kegerator
If you’re like us here at Beerandcomics.com you love beer and comics, and not necessarily in that order. Even if you’re taking advantage of the economical benefits of homebrewing, there’s a great way to maximize your beer dollar that you probably never considered. I consider my kegerator one of the best pure investments I’ve made, the amount of money you save over even the short term is massive.
Just to put it in perspective, a 15.5 gallon “half-barrel” contains the equivalent of 165 12oz beers, a “quarter barrel” equals out to over 80 beers. Even a homebrewer’s 5 gallon Corny Keg is over 50 beers. You are probably saying, “Now Dave, I’ve gotten kegs of beer for parties and by the day after the party that beer is getting pretty skunky, I can’t imagine drinking 165 beers on my own in a weekend!” I would agree, since that would probably kill you, and honestly, in this day and age a fledgling blog can get all the hits it needs. Honestly though, time is not usually an issue. What most people don’t consider is that a kegerator is an entirely different monster than your weekend party pump. The key ingredient is CO2, since a kegerator isn’t introducing any regular atmospheric air to the beer it stays fresh, as long as you aren’t constantly warming and cooling it, which is where the refrigerator comes into play.
The actual cost of the whole shebang really depends on if you have a fridge already available. If you can find a used or free fridge a kit can be purchased online for well under $200. Considering that the average, non-specialty beer runs about $50 per quarter barrel or $80 per half you make that up pretty quickly. If you’re going to go with more high-falutin’ fare, that’s going to set you back further, A half barrel of Oberon, for instance is going to set you back upwards of $180, which is high, but still not bad for 160 bottles.
The main decision you have to make when deciding on a kegerator is what type of beer you’re going to be drinking out of it. If you love Guinness and Harp and the other few nitrogenated beers, it’s going to run you a bit more at the outset, but honestly, if you’re seriously considering having Guinness on tap, the price is probably not an issue. Whatever route you’re planning on going many sites online have kits you can get to either put the tap in the door of a fridge, or in a draft tower mounted either on top of a small fridge or bar. Both kits only require drilling a couple of holes, and can be installed in well under an hour with minimal hassle.
Additionally, setting up a kegerator might be the perfect solution if you’re at all serious about homebrewing. Homebrew can be kegged without worrying about carbonation (because you carbonate it when you dispense it) and it removes all the hassle of bottling plus it guarantees a certain level of homogeneity to your beer that can be harder to achieve with bottles. Plus having your own beer on tap really affords a sense of accomplishment.
The only issue with having a kegerator is resisting the urge to drink non-stop. When you’re using your own glasses, and not paying as you go, it’s a lot easier to come home and have a beer after work, then maybe one with dinner, then maybe another while you watch a movie… Basically it’s very easy to end up drinking more than you intend to. For me this effect wore off very quickly. As soon as I realized that I’d put on 10 lbs. I was very aware of it, but your mileage may vary.
Ultimately the decision to go with a kegerator is a blance of the economy with the utility of actually owning one. If you are the sort of person who likes to have beer around all the time, and you are happy to drink a standard type of beer for an extended period of time, it is perhaps the best purchase you could make. If you like drinking small quantities and switching up your beer types constantly, then it’s far more likely that a kegerator is not for you. Beverage Factory is a good place to start looking at the myriad components that are available and should give you a good idea of the price. I can vouch for them personally since I’ve ordered two kits from them (but am in no way affiliated with them).
If you have any questions about purchasing or installing a kegerator don’t hesitate to contact me.
A kegerator setup is a fantastic idea for home brewers looking to take it to that next level. While, I haven’t had the funds available to do it, an excellent way of going about it is using an old chest freezer. Bare in mind, home brew kegs will be soda kegs, and there are a few things you need to keep in mind… consistency being the main one. The really cool thing about the chest freezers, once you get them on a different thermometer, is that you can fit between 6 and 8 kegs of home brew in there. The trouble can be how carbonated you wish to serve your beer… you may have to keep multiple regulators on coming off your CO2 tank in order to keep the carbonation levels correct, and regulators are one of the expensive parts, at 50+ dollars a pop usually.
As Dave mentioned, however, there is very little cooler than having some people over and being able to offer draft beer. One thing, however, would be offering your own draft beer in multiple varieties.
I also know my fair share about the construction of kegerators, but more about kegging beer. Feel free to ask questions.
It should be noted that a homebrew setup can be a bit cheaper than a commercial keg setup. Ultimately it depends on how much you end up paying for the Corny kegs, but I could add a second tap to my fridge to handle homebrew for right around $100 (that includes money for a couple of empty kegs).