5 Things to Know Before Purchasing Your First Kegerator
This content is brought to you in partnership with NewAir & their brand new 5.8 Cu. Ft. Single Tap Kegerator (with Draft Beer Kit Included).
Have you ever thought about purchasing your own kegerator? We tossed the idea around over the past few years, but it always felt a little, I don't know... intimidating?
So, we decided to do a bit of research to understand all of the ins and outs of kegerator ownership. (Spoiler alert: after doing our research, we ended up with the NewAir Single Tap Kegerator, and we have no regrets!)
Here are a few tidbits to get you prepared to purchase your first kegerator.
1. A kegerator isn't just for beer.
One of our biggest concerns when evaluating if we needed a kegerator in our lives was, "Will we drink that much beer?" Then we realized, kegerators are not just for beer! We can put kombucha on tap when we need a bit of a beer break (and a little bit of a gut health check).
We will say, kegerators are optimized for beer, so you'll get a great pour every time!
2. Speaking of pouring, you get to learn how to pour beer properly.
If you haven't bartended before, you may not know how to properly pour a beer. No worries! Once you have your own kegerator, you'll get plenty of practice. Here's a quick tutorial for reference.
3. You will need to clean your kegerator regularly.
It's recommended that you clean your kegerator line after every keg. While it shouldn't take too much time to do (once you get the hang of it, it should only take five minutes or so), it is important to keep up the quality of the next keg you put on.
Lines aren't the only things that need to be cleaned. You should expect to do a "deep clean" once a year to avoid any excess build-up in or on the kegerator.
4. You'll need to refill up CO2 cylinder occasionally.
You can fill your CO2 up at a variety of locations, including home brew shops, local sporting goods stores, or even a local welding shop.
You may have to call a few places to confirm that they offer this service, but know that if CO2 kicks, you'll be out of luck until you can get it refilled.
5. There are several ways to source kegs for your kegerator.
First of all, if you are homebrewing and kegging your own beer, good on you! You can keg that right up and serve your own beer on draft in your own home.
If you're looking to fill your kegerator with local craft beer, these tips are for you. There are a couple of ways for your to secure your next keg for your kegerator:
Call your local craft brewery directly. Not only is this our favorite option (we love supporting local craft beer), but they will let you know what they have in stock, what's coming up, and if they don't have what you are looking for, they can always direct you to a retailer in the area who may have it in stock
Contact a keg retailer. If you're looking for more of a variety to choose from, a lot of retailers will list their keg stock online, which can be pretty extensive.
Check out your local liquor or grocery store. Depending on your state's laws, your local liquor store or even local grocery store may have kegs available for purchase.
After reading everything above, do you think you're ready to invest in your own kegerator? To twist your arm a little more, our friends at NewAir are providing Work For Your Beer readers 10% off their Single Tap Kegerator with Draft Beer Kit Included by using promo code BEER-10OFF
Not ready for a kegerator, but thinking about investing in a beer fridge? We suggest the NewAir “Beers of the World” Custom Designed Freestanding 126 Can Beer Fridge, and you can use promo code WORKFORYOUR20 for 20% off that beauty of a beer fridge.
Cheers to tapping beer in your own home!