Hello, I'm wondering if anybody could help me. I'm in the process of designing a small bar for a theatre opening in the new year, and I'm trying to work out whether or not I will need a professionally installed beer cellar. I'm only planning to have 3 kegs (Lager, Pale Ale and Cider) which I'm planning to house in a cellar behind the bar and have the beer lines run through the wall and connect to taps which will be fixed to the back wall of the bar (hope that makes sense!) What I'm struggling to understand is this; do I need to fit an air conditioner/dehumidifier in the cellar to keep the room at 12 degrees Celsius AND have a water cooler system for the beer lines? Or could I put the kegs into a DIY Kegerator/Keezer and do away with the need for an air conditioner/water cooler? Why is it that in a beer cellar, beers have to be kept at 12 Degrees Cesius, but then they can also be kept in Kegerators (lower than 12 Degrees Celsius) and that's fine? Please forgive my ignorance - my experience lies in the cocktail world, so I'm just making sure I give my beers the respect they deserve! Thank you for your time, K
Cellar temp or cellar temp with an AC is not appropriate for storing kegs, which in general are not pasteurized. You need a keezer to store the kegs below 40F. Beers that are cellared are bottled beers and are not Pale Ales (90 day shelf life) or daily drinking lagers. The styles that are cellared are usually served in the 50F range.
Welcome to the BA site, kzt. I don't have a home keg system, but I have read this forum enough to realize that it is a VERY tricky process to set up a beer dispensing system. Hire a pro is my recommendation. Cellar temp is ideal for storing beers that age well, and those beers are served at that temp too. You could store cellarable beers at a lower temp, but you wouldn't gain anything except a bigger electricity bill.
Keg beer requires the addition of CO2 pressure to properly dispense. Bottle and can beer does not. A draft system requires a fair amount of planning to get right. The system you describe will not work. If you go into this without understanding the basics and also lacking the required mechanical and carpentry skill you will not be able to serve beer. It will be a foamy mess. Basically, you hire professionals for their services when you understand your limits. If you are here asking basic questions, you probably are not ready to install a draft system. Of course it is not the most difficult subject to learn, so ask questions and we will try to be helpful. First Two Pro-Tips Hire professionals. Install an under bar kegerator. Cheers
