So what exactly is a ‘kegerator’ anyway?
Well, you may know the trusty kegerator by a different name instead, such as a keg cooler or even keg refrigerator. In essence though, their function is twofold: number one, it serves beer directly from the keg. And secondly it needs to keep that beer nice and cold. A great example of an effective and modern kegerator is the Haier hbf05eavs.
(It should come as little surprise then that kegerator came about from combining the terms ‘refrigerator’ and ‘keg’).
An excellent reason for using a kegerator, both at home or on a commercial level, is that they maintain the quality of a beer for such a long time. After a keg has been connected to a keg refrigerator, the beer will usually still taste great as much as 2 months later.
Perhaps you’re wondering what a kegerator actually looks like. Am I right?
To a large extent, you might be forgiven for confusing a keg cooler with being a normal refrigerator, except for the fact that most ready-made kegerators include a tank of carbon dioxide (to dispense the beer), a beer and air line, and a dispenser on top of the device through which to pour the beer.
Examples such as the hbf05eavs by Haier go a step further, by incorporating auto-defrost functions and an adjustable thermostat. This way the user can maintain the beer at an ideal temperature at all times.
Since beer is a drink that is enjoyed throughout the world, there is one part of a kegerator that very often changes from one country to another – and this piece of equipment is called a “coupler”. For instance, the couple system will be different depending on whether a beer keg is from Europe, America, Germany or the United Kingdom.
Fortunately, when buying a keg refrigerator inside of the USA (or wherever you live worldwide), the kegerator will normally already have the correct coupler for where you’re situated. (Just so you know, US-based merchants and commerce stores selling a Haier keg cooler tend to provide a US Sankey ‘System D’ coupler, which is standard for American draft beer).
Ultimately, kegerators are available for both commercial and home-based use, and they are an excellent, efficient and extremely practical way to maintain and serve high quality draft beer.