Expand Your Beer Menu with a Draft Beer Dispenser

Draft Beer Dispenser Buyers' Guide

With the explosion of the US craft beer industry over the last 10 years and a general love for domestic draft beer nationwide, a draft beer dispenser, also called a kegerator, is a bar augmentation many brew enthusiasts will appreciate. These systems are simple to operate and work with almost any beer, making them a valuable addition to foodservice operations hoping to take their draft menus to the next level.

Draft beer systems come in a range of sizes and can have anywhere from 1 to 12 taps per unit, and they can hold just one keg or more than five in the cabinet's refrigerated storage space. Bartenders can easily dispense a variety of draft beers or keep multiple kegs of your bar's most popular brew chilled and ready to serve. Customized dispenser taps are often available for specific beers, signaling to consumers which beers are available on draft without requiring them to ask the bartender.

Finding the right dispenser for your operation can help you optimize the space you have to enhance beer sales and expand your menu.

How Does a Draft Beer System Work?

A draft beer dispenser keeps kegs of beer chilled and concealed inside its cabinet. Connected to taps mounted on the dispenser's top, the kegs provide cold, carbonated beer at the push of a lever. Bartenders can use the kegerator system to dispense fresh pulls of popular beers, ranging from well-known national brands to local brewery specials. Many consumers enjoy drinking beer from a glass or stein rather than a bottle or can, and a draft beer dispenser makes it quick and easy for servers to fill those glasses on demand.

The seven main parts of a draft beer dispenser include the cooler, keg, coupler, gas line, tubing, beer tower, and faucet (more commonly known as a tap). We'll go over these parts below and provide an inside look at how draft beer systems work before you make your purchase.

  • The cooler is a refrigerated holding cabinet for the keg(s), which can be kept at the preferred serving temperature.
  • As you may already know, beer is stored in kegs. Kegs come in many different sizes, so be sure to check which sizes specific commercial kegerators can store and verify how many kegs can fit inside the cabinet when comparing draft beer systems.
  • The next two pieces of equipment, the coupler and the gas line, work together to ensure beer can reach the tap and be served. The coupler connects the keg's top to the CO2 gas line, opening a valve that releases gas into the keg. From there, the pressurized gas pumps beer to the tap. Gas tanks need to be refilled or replaced periodically to keep the system flowing.
  • Before it reaches the tap, the beer will first have to pass through tubing. This tubing is often chilled, keeping beer cold until it reaches the glass.
  • Connecting the tubing to the tap is the beer tower, a rigid dispenser that projects up from the unit's top and supports the tap(s). This piece is designed to raise the tap high enough to accommodate most beer glasses while holding the tap firm and steady as operators push against it to release beer.
  • The final piece of the kegerator puzzle is the tap. Draft beer taps have a top-mounted handle that's pushed or pulled forward, opening a valve and enabling beer to flow from the tap.

Why Use a Draft Beer System?

Many people hold strong preferences for how their beer should be served, but offering a chilled pint of draft can please even the pickiest of connoisseurs. This is largely because draft beer tastes different from bottled options, generally providing a fresher-tasting product because it's stored in kegs and sealed away from light and air during storage. To ensure the flavor isn't compromised, it's important to keep all the beer lines and taps clean and sanitized. Some kegerators have anti-microbial lines built-in to make cleaning simple.

Domestic draft beer is also typically unpasteurized, enabling craft beer to be served at its optimum flavor. The downside to this is that kegs of unpasteurized beer must be kept refrigerated at all times to avoid spoilage and typically only stay fresh for 45 to 60 days.1 Pasteurized beer stored in cans or bottles can often be stored four to six months at room temperature, but it usually isn't as flavorful as its draft counterpart because it can oxidize and develop a "skunky" flavor more easily.2 So even though bottled, pasteurized beer is easier to store, it often doesn't retain its flavor as well as kegged beer.3

How Do Beer Taps Work?

Beer taps – like most other faucets, taps, and spigots – utilize valves to control the flow of liquid. Specifically, beer taps control beer's rate of flow to determine when, if, and how quickly product exits the dispensing system and pours into a glass or growler. There are three main types of beer taps, which are covered in more detail below.

Keg Tap Types

  • Gas Pressure Dispense Tap: Powered by tanks of carbon dioxide or nitrogen, this style of tap provides the most effortless dispensing, although it requires an external tank to operate and won't dispense once the gas runs out. These taps utilize pressurized gas to push beer out of the keg and through the beer lines to the tap, where bartenders pour it into glasses.
  • Portable Keg Tap: Portable keg taps don't require a gas tank to operate, though they still need pressure to work. With a portable keg tap, the pressure is typically supplied by a hand pump that users must operate manually to keep the beer flowing.
  • Cask Beer Tap: Functioning much the same today as in centuries past, cask beer taps use gravity rather than pressurization to dispense beer. This type of tap is usually hammered directly into a cask of beer and is typically used in situations where the entire cask will be consumed within a short period of time.

Choosing the Right Draft Beer Dispenser

Draft beer dispensers come in many configurations, each of which is best for a specific application. For small operations, compact and/or countertop draft beer dispensers can be a good fit, while high-volume clubs and restaurants may get the most benefit from a unit that can hold several kegs and provides multiple taps for serving different beers. Some options have divided storage that offers space to store bottled and canned beer as well as kegs, eliminating the need for a separate refrigerated merchandiser in the bar area. There are even kegerators adapted specifically for serving wine, providing an attractive option for upscale venues, Italian eateries, and all-inclusive resorts that serve a large volume of alcoholic beverages each day. Below, common kegerator features are discussed in more detail to help users identify which type of unit they'll need.

Size & Keg Capacity

Beer dispensers have between one and three sections, generally with one swinging door per section. Commercial kegerators can hold as little as one sixth-sized keg or as many as five full-size kegs; units of this size often include space to keep a back-up keg for the most popular flavor on tap.

Draft beer systems can measure anywhere from 13 to over 100 inches in width, and this measurement often determines how many kegs each unit can hold. These units typically stand between 30 and 40 inches high and provide anywhere from 2.9 to 32.2 cubic feet of temperature-controlled storage space.

Number of Columns & Taps

Kegerators can have anywhere from 1 to 12 taps per unit, although that doesn't necessarily mean they can serve 12 varieties of beer. Most options have one or two beer towers, which extend from the unit's top to support the tap(s) at a comfortable pouring height. Each tower can have multiple taps attached, depending on the beer dispenser. The number of taps dictates the maximum number of beers that can be simultaneously dispensed from a single unit. In some units, the towers will be refrigerated all the way to the top to ensure that beer is served as cold as possible. This design should reduce foam, meaning you lose less product to line clearing with each pour.

Compressor Location

The size and shape of the location where you plan to install your beer dispenser plays a large role in determining which compressor design is best for you. Compressors mounted on the unit's rear limit interior storage depth and require more clearance from the rear wall. Side-mounted compressors are easier to access for maintenance, but they can widen the unit's footprint and may prevent it from being installed flush against walls or other equipment on one side.

Exterior Finish

Most commercial kegerators have a stainless steel top, resisting corrosion from splashes of beer, but the sides and front often have more variety. Stainless steel finishes are popular due to their durability and ease of cleaning. Also available is a black laminate finish, which some businesses prefer for its aesthetic appeal and because it generally does not need to be cleaned as often as steel. Black laminate is not as durable as steel, but scratches, stains, and scuff marks are sometimes less obvious on a black finish than on stainless steel. Decorative wood panels are available on select models, which may blend in well at upscale locations.

Specialty Features

Several specialty options are available to make serving easier or to improve your customers' experience.

  • Some kegerators have built-in mug chillers, called club tops, that can frost glasses and mugs, which helps keep the beer served in them colder for even longer. If your bar has the space for it, standalone glass chillers are also available.
  • Some units are also available on casters, making them more mobile for cleaning or relocation.
  • Look for a beer dispenser that is outdoor approved if you will be using it on an outdoor bar or patio. These units are able to withstand the elements and can keep beer cold even in hot weather.
  • For serving bottles and cans in addition to draft beer, some models have a built-in bottle cooler section. These keep those drinks nearby for bartenders, and they often have glass doors for merchandising purposes.
  • Some models will have drain tubes located at the bottom of the cooler, which will make for easier connections to the floor drains.
  • Certain draft beverage dispensers are designed to serve wine or even coffee, simplifying high-volume beverage service of alternate varieties.

References

  1. How Long Does a Keg Stay Fresh? KegWorks. Accessed April 2021.
  2. Food Storage: Beer, Regular or Light, Bottles or Cans - Unopened. StillTasty. Accessed April 2021.
  3. Ask a Cicerone: Which Is Better, Draft or Bottled Beer? Serious Eats. Accessed April 2021.