Ever Owned A Kegerator?

[Trick Pony]

how long will beer last in a keg?

For a 1/2 barrel if it's kept cold and under pressure I don't notice any change in flavor as long as we finish it within 30 days of tapping it. They also say that a keg should be drank within 4 months of being produced at the brewery.

[scootro]

how long will beer last in a keg?

[GrayStangGT]

Agree. 8 beers a day sounds like alcoholism to me....

I think the extra 6500 calories a week is more concerning than the alcohol. Granted I don't drink every night, but I can go to happy hour and end up drinking 6-8 beers just hanging out with friends for a few hours. 30 pack at the house usually last me 2-3 weeks if I don't share.

[Chili]

it's bud light brother, not exactly the strongest of beverages...

Well, I was saying Jesus as in you are my messiah, but now that you remind me we are talking about bud light, you have lost that status.

I would switch to coctails, that way you only have to drink 2-3.

[Stephen]

Pros:
1. Cheaper than bottles (assuming your setup is right and you dont have a lot of waste).

2. Tastes better in my opinion.

3. A much bigger longer lasting supply of beer.

4. Only one or 2 glasses at the end of the night vs a bunch of bottles or cans.

5. Way cooler than giving someone a bottle!

6. Less trips to the store


Cons:

1. Getting the keg in place by yourself can be a pain (buy a dolly)

2. If the keg blows after 9pm youre fucked (normally only liq stores carry kegs)

3. After each keg you need to clean the tavern head and pour spout unless you want black specs in your beer.

4. You will drink a lot more!

5. If your setup is outside plan on a lot of waste til that spout cools off.. For being such a manly drink beer is very sensitive to warm temps






Like said before dont buy cheap parts.. Superior restaurant supply has decent stuff for kegerators. I always used a 20lb co2 tank it would last me roughly 12-15 kegs.. Now if you are planning on doing guiness or boddingtons or some sort of beer that settles like that you cant use co2 you will have to use a low nitrogen mix gas. I made mine out of a top/bottom fridge and kept my frozen pint glasses up top..

[Trick Pony]

I have one at the house and I love it. I have people over to eat and drink quite often and got tired of our recycle bin always overflowing with bottles.
If you're drinking Bud Light it's right at $100 for a 1/2 barrel which is 15.5 gallons or 165 beers so it comes to 60 cents a beer. I haven't noticed any real change in my electric bill because of it.
Microbrews and imports cost significantly more - 1/2 barrel Sierra Nevada or Fat Tire for example is more like $140-150.
Mine will hold either one 1/2 barrel or 2 of the cylindrical 5 gallon kegs. The only domestic megabrew that they seem to make in these is Miller Lite but it's nice to have a couple good microbrews on tap. Unfortunately buying two 5 gallons brings the cost per beer up even more.
I have a 5 lb CO2 cylinder that lasts about 5 or 6 kegs and I think it was $15 to get it filled.
You just have to remember to empty the tray every time and flush the lines every once in a while. Other than that, it's beer ready to go whenever you want it.
My wife hates it but I think it's one of the best investments I've made lately...
This is the one I have. I think it was $800 when I bought it.

[bcoop]

Every kegerator should have a drip try with a line that runs back into the cooler with a container... fruit flies dont survive well in 38 degree temps.

As for a home glycol setup... that would be dfwm baller status just for some cold beer lol

They don't all have them. Most newer ones do, but not all. I had an older one for a while, and the drip tray didn't have a drain.

As for the glycol - like I said, he'd shit when he sees the price. Lol. I sold one back in June that ran $42,000. Granted, it was pumps, chillers, for 50 flavors, and 350' of lines.

[BP]

The biggest problem is people that will come over and drink with you but not chip in for refills. Get a good regulator, look for a kegerator that refrigerates the tower (or is tapped directly into the side) and stick with domestic light beers and you'll love it. As much as you are using it the line maintenance won't be that big of a deal. It's when the beer sits for a week that they go sour. The drip tray is also a problem, you do need to keep it cleaned out regularly. There aren't many things on earth that smell worse than solidified beer sitting in a tray for a week.

The biggest drawback for me is that I can't decide what beer to buy. I love beers like Rogue's Dead Guy and all of Dogfish Head's IPAs but those kegs are $200+ and I'd hate to get burned out on them halfway through a barrel. It's easier to just keep a 6 pack of them.

[TonyMCev]

I had a beverage air for a couple of years. It was fun for a while but you're always jacking with something. Especially pressure looking for that perfect pour. It developed a refrigerant leak that slowly got worse. I ended up giving it away minus the c02 setup and the couplers. I may do a full size fridge conversion in the future, but not another mini fridge. After getting rid of it I realized the variety I was missing out on 'because I still have a keg of X at home'.

i am kind of starting to feel like it may be more trouble than a convenience, based on your post and a couple of others. i guess, in theory, it just sounded good to know i could have ice cold tap beer at home all the time.

[TonyMCev]

8 beer drinking capacity....solid barg.

brother, i was not bragging one bit. hell, my mom can outdrink me, but she isn't an "alcoholic". i was referring to the fact that, because i choose to consume more than someone else, i was called an alcoholic. this thread isn't even about tolerance or alcoholism, it is a fact finding mission to hopefully help save me money...

i am as far from a "braggart" or "dfwm millionaire" as you will ever find on here...

[TonyMCev]

Wow you can out drink me. Such a great life accomplishment. LOL

As far as a kegerator goes, why not just buy the kind that's a fridge with a tap on the outside of it?

i am not saying it is an accomplishment, i just hate it when people judge me. don't judge me based on how much i drink. 8 beers or even 10 may give me the slightest buzz, and if i choose to drink that much, it is on me. i don't drive after drinking and there are times i choose to go a few days between beers. i guess my definition of alcoholism and yours differ. my definition is someone who starts as soon as they wake up and must have alcohol in their system to seem somewhat "functional". not someone, like me, who drinks to wind down and can handle themselves based on a pretty high tolerance...

and the "fridge with a tap" is what i thought i was referring to as a kegerator. i don't have experience with them outside a restaurant. what other kinds exist besides a "fridge with a tap" ?

[bard]

I had a beverage air for a couple of years. It was fun for a while but you're always jacking with something. Especially pressure looking for that perfect pour. It developed a refrigerant leak that slowly got worse. I ended up giving it away minus the c02 setup and the couplers. I may do a full size fridge conversion in the future, but not another mini fridge. After getting rid of it I realized the variety I was missing out on 'because I still have a keg of X at home'.

[2011GT]

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/app/2543326272.html

[2011GT]

so have you ever owned a kegerator? anything worthwhile to contribute to the thread besides the fact that i can outdrink you?

Wow you can out drink me. Such a great life accomplishment. LOL

As far as a kegerator goes, why not just buy the kind that's a fridge with a tap on the outside of it?

[jdgregory84]

so have you ever owned a kegerator? anything worthwhile to contribute to the thread besides the fact that i can outdrink you?

8 beer drinking capacity....solid barg.