Are you having a party and looking for beer keg rental? Homebrewing supplies are in a roar nowadays, so most people opt in to just renting one, but is it worth it?
Beer Keg Rental: Is it worth to rent a kegerator?
“Kegerator” is a fairly new term. If someone is used to attending house parties with alcoholic beverages to go around, he or she may have actually encountered one. Kegerator is simply a keg and refrigerator built together.
Now, the image that description conjured may be a bit weird. The keg refrigerator is designed in a way that the apparatus can store and dispense, at least, half-a-barrel of beer and replace kegs once empty. So rather than renting and/or bringing along a heavy keg for a house party, the idea is to have a kegerator just sitting there in one place and to simply start beer tapping to fill glasses.
Kegerators come in various sizes, from the mini 5-liter to the full size, depending on owner-preferences. These are some details:
- Most kegerators can already fit behind a home bar.
- Full-sized ones (typically free-standing refrigerators) have pressurized carbon dioxide tanks and couplers connected to the beer faucets.
- Giant kegerators have four taps and built-in ice machines.
- Commercial kegerators can hold the following kegs:
- half-barrel (full-size)
- quarter-barrel (half-size or pony)
- mini kegs (5-liter).
- Outdoor kegerators are great for garages and basements, keeping beer frosty in environments above 85° or below 50°
Enthusiasts have the option to create their own at-home draft beer dispensers. There are kegerator conversion kits that can be bought from retail outlets and companies. The purpose is to redesign a refrigerator into a kegerator.
Is it worth to rent a kegerator?
Kegerator or Refrigerator
Using a refrigerator to keep beer chilled is the conventional way of things at home. It functions as the storage room to keep things other than beer fresh. It is just at home, and the beer is easily accessible when the mood to drink is there. Meanwhile, a kegerator, though just at home as well and easily accessible, only chills and stores beer or beverages. That’s why many have opted to beer keg rentals.
Given that a refrigerator can store various kinds of food and food products, a refrigerator is already the ideal place to put beer in, right? The truth is, the fact that a kegerator is only meant to accommodate drinks is what makes it more ideal.
If there is a kegerator,…
- beer bottles and cans need not take up storage space that should be meant for fresh food and products
- there won’t be a need to purchase beer in bottles and cans but in kegs at home bars
- there will be enough liquid to go around in a longer period of time
- this will save one money and body energy as owning a beer cooler kegerator eliminates the need to buy dozens of beer–getting them can be quite a hassle if a house party is expected it will be a good way to help the environment or, at least, avoid creating more wastes with empty beer bottles and cans (plus, there won’t be any to clean up)
- The keg is reusable/refillable, which emphasizes the advantages mentioned above
- it can save the buyer gas money due to minimal–if not no–trips to distributors when beer runs out (and what if that happens when the stores are already closed?) or to return the bottles for the deposit
- it can extend beer life for as long as six months as long as it is stored in the ideal temperature, which is from 36° to 40° Fahrenheit — that means beer can last, at least, for the next parties (though that depends on how much a group can consume)
Rent or Buy
Some would only like to just rent a beer keg kegerator, some would like to buy their own. It’s important to weigh the pros and cons of both.
Each will need space that is big enough to accommodate it and is insulated well so the kegerator will work properly. Space and insulation are more important for a kegerator to serve as a home bar, though, if that is going to be its permanent location. Rent or not, the consumer must make sure of the space’s measurements and the kegerator’s size to avoid problems.
Renting a kegerator is less expensive than buying one. However, renting is only a good idea for events that do not happen very often. If a person, group or the family is/are not regular beer drinkers anyway, then renting for a wedding, for instance, is okay. If a person, group or the family is/are regular consumers, then buying a kegerator for possible every day or more regular consumption should be the more practical approach.
To purchase a kegerator would be more expensive. There’s the unit price, then the cost of a slightly increased energy bill to run it, and the additional cost of CO2 tank refills and beer line cleaners. But from the economic point of view, it is more economically sound. It can save approximately 40% to 60% in costs, compared to buying beer in cans or bottles. By, say, 10th keg, there will be a break-even in costs. Why half-a-barrel is already equivalent to 165 cans of beer! Also, refills and cleaning do not cost much and only happen when a keg is emptied, which takes a while anyway.
Purchasing a kegerator gives the buyer more means to choose a unit, after all, he or she is paying for it.
Kegerators: To rent or to buy?
Renting a kegerator is not always a pleasant experience especially when it involves swapping tanks. There’s no predicting if the customer is going to get a nasty, rusty, beat up old-painted tank. That’s not exactly something people should willingly get their beer from. Sure, maybe the renter can give a better one. That is if the renter would be nice, accommodating, and understanding. And what if there aren’t any nice ones, to begin with?
Renting a kegerator demands from the consumer to strictly follow Keg Etiquette. Unfortunately, in a potentially rowdy house party, there is bound to be someone to fool around with the kegerator and the homeowner cannot always be around to make sure no one does. Only the homeowner answers to the renter.
In the end, the decision is up to the consumer. Should the decision is to buy, then the intended buyer must choose wisely. Which kegerator should fit in a specific space? How big is preferred? What design will work best? The most important is the purchaser should make sure to find a reliable seller.
Find the kegerator that should work best. Visit KegFridge.com for more information.