Had an exhausting work week? An ice-cold beer party in your backyard is a perfect way to celebrate your exhausting and stressful long work week together with your workmates!
However, it can make you a bit anxious, especially when you only have a beer keg since only some people like to drink warm beer. So today, we are going to find out different ways how to keep your Keg cold without a kegerator.
What is a Keg?
Kegs are multipurpose as they are often used to store, serve, and even transport any kind of beverages, whether carbonated, non-carbonated, or nonalcoholic beverages–it is often used for alcoholic drinks such as wine and beer.
Moreover, it usually comes in various shapes and sizes. It is made out of different materials, such as plastic, stainless steel, and aluminum.
Tapped vs. Untapped Kegs
There are 2 kinds of Keg that you may encounter: the tapped Keg and the untapped Keg. The only difference these two kegs only have is that; tapped kegs mean they are opened, while untapped kegs mean they were never opened or the beer has been unpasteurized.
What is a Kegerator?
As its name implies, it is a coined term between a refrigerator and a keg, hence, a kegerator. It serves as a refrigerator for Kegs. It is one of the best and go-to ways to keep the beer either at home or at the bar.
You should not worry about its appearance because it can be very stylish. It can either stand out or blend in with whatever interior design you have at your place.
How does a kegerator work?
What makes up the kegerator are the carbon dioxide cylinder, coupler, CO regulator, faucet, Keg, refrigerator, and a tubing. It pushes the beer out of the Keg by putting some carbon dioxide pressure on it.
Moreover, the cylinder balances the pressure while the CO regulator enables you to change the pressure when needed. Lastly, the sole purpose of the kegerator is to keep the keg cold where the beer is actually stored.
3 Different Ways to Keep your Keg Cold without Kegerator
We have divided the ways how to keep your Keg even without a kegerator into 3 categories: the highly recommended ones, during an event, and DIY ways. Read through the lists below, as these will come in handy in due time.
3 Highly Recommended tips on how to keep your Keg cold without a kegerator
We have listed below 3 highly recommended tips on how to keep your Keg cold without a kegerator. These tips are inexpensive and very achievable.
They are a great alternative to keep your draft beer cold in your Keg without hurting your pocket and, at the same time, feasible, especially when items needed are already available.
- Make use of a dry ice: Make sure only to purchase the dry ice when you finally need it and immediately put it in a very deep ice chest together with the Keg. And then, never forget to secure the lid of the ice chest, as exposure to humidity will only lead the dry ice into sublimation.
- Optimize your use of Ice, Salt, and Water: This technique is the cheapest way yet also feasible to keep your Keg cold without a kegerator. Fill the large basin or a huge tub with ice, salt, and cold water. Combining these 3 helps keep the Keg cold for a little longer than usual.
- Keg Jackets or Keg Blankets: Do not worry if you do not have a kegerator because one of the highly recommended ways to keep your keg cold even without a kegerator is the Keg Jacket or also known as the Keg blanket. Keg blankets or jackets are made of a neoprene fabric that allows the keg beer to stay cold while it confines the hot temperature of the surroundings.
Maximize the use of the back of your pickup truck
Finally got your dream pickup car and decided to try it out by having a spontaneous picnic trip and a beer night in the mountains with your closest friends? However, you are worried because you do not know how to keep your Keg cold since you do not have a kegerator.
Fret not because you can optimize the functionality of the back of your pickup truck. Put some neoprene fabric or tarpaulin (which surprisingly are almost always available in most homes) on top of the entire cargo bed and fill it with a generous amount of ice, cold water, salt, and of course, the Keg and bottles of beer.
3 Tips for keeping your keg cold during an event
We sometimes struggle financially, but we still want to celebrate special occasions, right? However, we sometimes spend and celebrate them within a budget. Therefore, we cannot afford to rent a cocktail or a mocktail bar for the special occasion.
You do not have to worry because you can still have unlimited beer parties and celebrate a milestone in your home with the following life hacks we have listed below to keep your Keg cold during special occasions in your lives:
- Ensure to keep your Keg under the shade: If you have to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries outdoors, and you do not have a kegerator, do not fret because you can still keep your Keg cold as long as you do not let it expose under the sun. We all know how the high heat temperature of the sun can prevent your Keg from keeping it cold. So letting it stay under the shade will prevent it from absorbing all the heat.
- Optimize the use of your Jockey Box: We are pretty sure you are not familiar with the term, but you have definitely seen one in your lifetime. The name jockey box originated from the term jockey around. It is meant to be brought from one place to the other because it is lightweight when empty making it convenient to carry around. You can fill your jockey box with a lot of ice-cold water, then voila! Your Keg is kept cold.
- Reuse plastic tubs or garbage cans: Do not worry if the kegerator you have purchased online arrived late and the event is about to start.You can keep your keg cold even without a kegerator by reusing garbage cans or plastic tubs. It is one of the cheapest ways to keep the keg cold. All you need to do is to surround the Keg with ice and fill it with cold water.
3 DIY Ways to keep your keg cold even without a kegerator
DIY, or also known as Do-It-Yourself, can also be some of the ways to keep your keg cold even without a kegerator. We have listed below 3 DIY ways that you can try at home.
- The Fan and Wet T-shirt Method: Do not panic if you have no available keg sheet or Keg blanket at your home. The fan and wet T-shirt method will suffice to keep your Keg cold without a kegerator. All you need to do is get an oversized T-shirt that you can dip into a tub filled with ice-cold water before wrapping it around the Keg. From there, start pointing the electric fan to the wrapped Keg. The wet T-shirt and the air will work together in keeping the Keg cold a little longer.
- Inflatable Kiddie Pool: Your kids might have grown up, but their inflatable kiddie pool will one day come in handy. Especially for significant events that deserve to be celebrated with a beer party! You just have to inflate that kiddie pool and fill it with ice and cold water. Voila! Your Keg is kept cold even without a kegerator.
- Old Bathtub: Have an old bathtub? Do not throw it just yet because one day, it might be for good use whenever you need something to keep your Keg cold, even without a kegerator. Just like the other tips we have provided, all you need is to fill the bathtub with an ample amount of ice and cold water; better if you also add some salt to maintain the coldness a little bit longer.
Want to make your own kegerator at home?
2 Frequently Asked Questions
There might be a lot of questions about Kegs and kegerators running through your mind because you are curious about them. Therefore, we have listed below 2 frequently asked questions that we think will be insightful.
What is the advisable temperature a Kegged beer is stored at?
Kegged beers should be stored at a temperature not lower than 3 to 4 degrees Celsius or equivalent to 48 degrees Fahrenheit as stated by the Draft Beer Quality Manual.
Though the temperature mentioned above was highly recommended, it still varies from one style of beer to another. You can check out the recommendations of the manufacturer just to be safe.
You may have wondered, what if I do not follow the recommended room temperature? What will happen to my kegged beer? Right!
That is an excellent curious question because if you do not follow the recommendations of the manufacturer, your Keg will be at risk as bacteria will unavoidably scatter starting from the inside of the Keg, making your cold beer hazardous to drink.
How long does a keg stay cold, even without ice?
A keg can only last for up to 3 hours being cold even without the presence of ice. The sole reason why this is possible is that Kegs are generally made to be insulated.
The timeframe as to when a keg can hold its coldness even with the absence of ice varies in different factors such as the temperature and the quality and type of the Keg, as well as how frequently you open the Keg.
But in general, a keg can last up to 8 hours if it was never opened in the first place.
Additional Informations
We know that there are still things you need to know about Keg and a kegerator; therefore we have provided additional information that can be insightful, especially for future use.
4 Different uses of Empty Keg
Not all the time; your Keg is filled with beer, right? and sometimes, you do not want to just throw it away once you have used it, right? So you may have wondered about the other ways or the different uses of an empty keg to optimize its function. Hence, we have listed 4 different uses for an empty keg:
- You can use an empty keg as a planter box.
- Empty kegs can also be used as grills and pizza ovens for outdoor picnics when you feel more adventurous.
- Who among you here is into industrial interior design? Did you know that empty kegs can also be recycled as a urinal? Amazing, right!?
- Since we are already into interior design, why not also maximize the use of an empty keg as a bar stool or a round table for your industrial design coffee shop?
3 Things to consider when you buy a kegerator
Sometimes, you do not have to purchase things hastily. You should think twice before swiping that card, even though you badly need the item. We have listed below the 3 important things you should consider when buying a kegerator.
Consider the storage location
One of the things you should highly consider when purchasing a kegerator is the storage location. Kegs have a lot of variation– it comes in various shapes and sizes. It is also necessary to consider the distance of your kegerator storage location from your living room or outdoor garden since most events will take place.
Consider the size and type of kegerator
Various kinds of kegerators are available, so it is necessary to consider the functionality of the kegerator you wish to have. There are built-in kegerators, DIY kegerators, Freestanding kegerators, Mini kegerators, and outdoor kegerators.
Consider the assembly type and how easy it will be
Regardless of the brand and model of kegerator you wish to purchase, they all have different assembly requirements. So in case you want to avoid having a very tedious assembly process, then make sure to research more about kegerators that have a comparatively simple process.
Summary
You and your friends will no longer have to spend a hundred bucks to drink at bars because you can now have it at home!
Now that you have learned how to keep a keg cold without a kegerator, you can have an unlimited beer in your backyard while celebrating some milestones in your life. Moreover, keep in mind these tips as they all will come in handy in due time.
As a homebrewer, Michael would get frustrated about the lack of brewing information on the internet. After hundreds of gallons of spoilt batches, Micheal had enough. And he founded Unknown Brewing as a resource for homebrewers.