I enjoy a cold beer from time to time. Anyone who knows me would not dispute that. Right now, I have two or three varieties in the fridge and a few more (birthday presents) sitting downstairs waiting to be chilled.
But even with that kind of selection, I still don’t feel completely happy. I want draft beer in my basement.
I could go a few different ways to fill that desire. I could go through a lot of trouble and either buy a kegerator or make one of my own with an old fridge or something. However, that wouldn’t do me much good. I don’t entertain enough and certainly don’t drink enough to go through kegs on a regular basis.
I could also do some serious homebrewing and have smaller kegs of that available. I have done the lazy way of homebrewing before and didn’t have much patience for that. Going whole hog just isn’t in the cards for me.
Sadly, the final option doesn’t offer much of a chance for me. And this is why I am a little steamed.
A few versions of a mini tap system are on the market, most notably, the Beertender, which is backed from Heineken. I would love a fully automated 5 liter tap system in the Man Cave. There is only one problem – I don’t like Heineken that much.
Some other people have similar systems out there, but I don’t see many options for buying the mini kegs to go in them. Why spend a couple of hundred bucks on a tap system you can’t fill?
In this day and age, I can’t understand why many different options don’t exist for these devices. I don’t know why people like Pete’s Wicked and Sierra Nevada and Boston Brewing aren’t getting into the game. The people who would want one of these things in their basement are the kinds of people who drink those beers, I think.
Hopefully, it’s just a matter of time before the brewers catch up to the technology. I really want to enjoy a cold draft beer in my basement without much of a hassle.
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I like Eric’s suggestion. I think it depends on how much beer you’re looking to have on tap, but a small dorm fridge (like the ubiquitous Sanyo 4912) can hold a few sixtels. To save space you could put the CO2 tank outside of the unit.
For keg size comparison, look here: http://www.micromatic.com/beer-questions/sizes-keg-draft-beer-available-aid-11.html
Good luck!
Cool. Now just that tricky part of convincing Maria to let me build a tap system downstairs. 🙂
Yes. You can get them at many beer distributors and directly from breweries.
Are sixtels widely available in our area?
“You’ll have a wider variety of beer choices and you’ll spend a lot less on beer, by volume.”
To clarify: You’ll spend less on beer buying sixtels than you will buying those mini-kegs.
Brian,
Consider building or buying a regular-sized keg draft system, and buy sixtels of beer, rather than half or quarter kegs.
You’ll have a wider variety of beer choices and you’ll spend a lot less on beer, by volume.
Sixtels hold about 2 1/2 cases of beer and your kegerator should keep it reasonably fresh for a couple months or so.