Best Mini Kegerators to Buy in 2019
If you’re a true beer lover, you must be well aware of the difference between a draught beer and the beer that is poured from a bottle or can! And a true beer enthusiast knows very well that the former tastes much better and gives you the right kick that you’re looking for!
When drinking out, you can easily enjoy the draught or draft beer! However, what to do when you’re at home or at a house party or BBQ? Well, when it comes to buying beer for home, people are compelled to buy the bottled or canned beer because it is easy to store and sell.
If the craft beer enthusiast in you is not satisfied with bottled beer at home, investing in a mini kegerator can be the best bet! If you’re impressed by the idea of a kegerator and are looking forward to investing in one, we have enlisted the best ones for you!
But before you look at your options, you should know a bit more about mini kegerators. So, let’s get started!
What is a Mini Kegerator?
Kegerator is a small refrigerator-like machine or a portable container that is designed to pour beer right from a keg. Now, a keg is a metallic pressurized barrel that is used to store carbonated drinks like beer. One end of a keg has a valve that is used to dispense beer.
A keg is put inside a kegerator to dispense beer directly into a beer mug. So, it feels like a luxury to have one at home! Besides that, let’s look into more logical reasons why you should buy a kegerator.
Why buy a Mini Kegerator?
No matter how many bottles of beer you stock up in your fridge, nothing can beat the idea of draft beer being within your reach even when you’re home. This is why it is a great idea to invest in a mini kegerator.
However, if you still need some solid reasons to invest in a kegerator other than just the craving of draft beer at home, we are here for you. Luckily, we have got a whole list of reasons for you. So, here is why buying a kegerator is beneficial for you:
- Cost-effective
If you’re someone who likes to drink beer quite often and likes their fridge stocked up with bottles and cans of beer, you’ll save up quite a lot using a kegerator. The science behind this is that buying a kegerator and a whole keg of beer seems to save a lot of your money that is otherwise spent on bottles and cans of beers.
So, after you consume a few kegs, if you calculate, you would have saved up enough money on beer that covers up the cost of your kegerator. So, you wouldn’t regret investing in one! Plus the enjoyment of draft beer at home is priceless!
- Keeps beer intact
Unlike opened beer bottles or cans, a keg keeps your beer fresh and enjoyable even after a long time. So, you need not rush and finish your beer fast thinking that it will lose its freshness and carbonation.
In a kegerator, your beer will stay intact for an estimated time of three to four months. It’s like a dream come true for beer lovers!
- Saves space
You know where on one hand, it is quite satisfying to keep your fridge stocked with your favorite beer, and on the other hand, it is quite irking to find no space for other things. Your fridge stays occupied almost all the time and that just does not work well.
When you invest in a beer kegerator, you get rid of this problem as no refrigerator is needed for bottled beer when you use kegs of beer. The kegerator not only helps you directly dispense your beer in the mugs but it also keeps it chilled throughout the time! So, that’s like killing two birds with one stone!
7 Top Rated Mini Kegerators
1. NutriChef Pressurized Growler Tap System - Stainless Steel Mini Keg Dispenser Portable Kegerator Kit
Made from heavy-duty stainless steel, the features of NutriChef kegerator tells pretty much all about the quality of this one. This beer kegerator system stands out from the others as it comes with a 16g CO2 cartridge that gives a constant CO2 supply to your beer, keeping it carbonated for a long time! So, forget flat beer for the rest of your life!
It holds 128 ounces of beer and keeps it fresh for 2 months! The adjustable gauge and regulator help you get the beer at the right pressure and makes the right head of the beer for you to enjoy!
Pros
- Great material and good manufacturing
- Durable
- Easy to set up
- Portable and easy to carry
- Good customer support
Cons
- Learning to use the regulator takes time
- Tough to fit in a refrigerator with ease
2. Keg Smiths 128 oz Portable Draft Keg System
This stainless steel keg is another hit in our list. This one comes with a capacity of 128 ounces that is equal to 8 pints of beer. Just like the NutriChef variant, the Keg Smiths kegerator also comes with CO2 supply-enabled tap configuration. With a threaded CO2 cartridge system, this keg accepts 12-16gm of CO2 to keep your drink carbonated throughout the time.
It is a portable kegerator and is suitable not just to serve beer but also other drinks like an iced tea, homebrew, and even coffee.
Pros
- Double size as compared to other growlers
- Doesn’t take too much space
- Strong and durable material
- Good customer support
Cons
- Difficult to seal the fittings
- Issues with regulating pressure and carbonation
3. uKeg 64 oz Pressurized Growler
This growler is available in copper color and has a capacity to hold 64 ounces of beer. The product is one of the most bought item that does the same work as a mini kegerator. Made of 18/8 stainless steel, it has vacuum insulation that helps keep your beer chilled throughout the day. On the outside, the uKeg is plated with copper to give it the look of an old brewery item.
The growler is made of steel; thus, there is a sight glass available on it that helps you know how much beer is left in the growler. It comes with an adjustable VPR cap and a custom tap that can be locked if you’re traveling with your kegerator. It keeps your beer fresh for 2 weeks!
Pros
- Portable and easy to carry
- Keeps beer fresh
- Strong built
- Durable
Cons
- Quality issues with CO2 cartridge & regulator cap
- Leakage or excessive dripping
4. KRUPS and HEINEKEN B100 BeerTender with Heineken Draught Keg Technology
An item for your home, the KRUPS B100 is a high-tech version of a classic kegerator like uKeg. This product flaunts the Heineken Draught Keg Technology. The kegerator comes with Peltier cooling system that is claimed to be ‘ultra-quiet’ and helps your beer stay continuously chilled.
The KRUPS keeps your beer fresh for 30 days after tapping. It has a modular yet classic design like the old-school beer dispensers and has a drainable platform where you can easily keep your beer glass or mug to be filled. The high-quality tap configuration is also quite easy to use and is sturdy manufacturing. It also comes with a 2-year warranty, valid worldwide.
This dispenser holds about 14.3 pounds of beer and the temperature of your beer can be inferred through an LED temperature indicator.
Pros
- Value for money
- Comes with a very helpful manual
- Great for serving beer in parties and gatherings
- Easy to set up
Cons
- Hard to find the right-sized keg
- Requires more space
- The tubes are longer than required
5. The Weekend Brewer
This kegerator claims to make brewing easy and is an advanced model with the ball lock tapping system. The tap system allows you to regulate pressure and carbonation with great ease. This mini kegerator is the best option if you’re always trying new beers as its 5L capacity will allow you to enjoy a beer in small batches. Thus, no beer goes bad, and nothing is wasted with this kegerator.
Made of stainless steel, the Weekend Brewer is best for different types of beer, kombucha, and cold brew nitro coffee. So, if you’re a fan for any of these, this kegerator is for you. This Weekend Brewer comes with a kit including the 5L stainless steel mini kegerator, double ball lock top, vinyl dip tube, and a storage cap.
Pros
- Bigger than other growlers but easy to fit in a refrigerator
- Easy to use
- Sturdy and high-quality manufacturing
Cons
- Difficulty in sealing
- Tough to clean
- Difficulty in maintaining the right pressure
6. BACOENG 128 Oz Pressurized Keg Growler, Kegerator
This kegerator is something you must consider before you buy one! Ideal for enjoying your draft beer at parties or BBQs, this kegerator is easily portable and offers ease of usage. It holds 128 ounces of beer and is made of stainless steel. The built of this keg allows you to keep your beer chilled and fresh!
The tap system is highly advanced with enabled CO2 supply and pressure gauge to control the pressure of beer. It allows you to make the perfect head through the right carbonation in your drink and prevents your beer from getting flat.
If you’re not sure about what size to buy, you can pick from different variants – 64 OZ, 128 OZ, 64 OZ Kit, 128 OZ Kit, and 175 OZ Kit!
Pros
- Strong and high-quality material used
- Easy to set up
- Smooth working
Cons
- Tough to fit in some refrigerators
7. BrewFlo Beer Dispensing System with Kegging Pack
This is a unique, high-quality, and highly advanced beer dispensing system. A lot more than a kegerator, this system flaunts a unique technology that helps you create the right head of beer without adding CO2 to your drink.
It has a stylized tap that is customizable with different tap top labels. The beer temperature and beer level are very conveniently shown on the LCD screen display. The BeerFlow is one part of the entire BrewArt system and for enhanced functionality, it should be used with the BeerDroid or the whole system can be purchased.
The tap system is easily connectable through a smooth 2 snap connection for easy change of kegs. The compressor is very quiet and makes no noise yet it is quite powerful and keeps your beer chilled.
Pros
- Durable, high-quality, and aesthetic design
- Great for home brewers
- Good customer support
- Easy to set up
Cons
- Highly Priced
- Limited warranty
- Takes more space
Things to Consider Before Buying a Mini Keg
No matter how hyped you are about buying your beer kegerator, you must buy it after thorough research. To help you, we have enlisted all the factors you should consider before investing your money in a kegerator – after all, it’s not every day that you buy a thing like a kegerator. So, let’s explore:
• Size
The size of a kegerator not just decides how much space it will take but also the size of keg it can hold. If you are sure that your favorite beer is available in small kegs, you can happily go with a mini kegerator. But if there is difficulty in getting the right size of a keg of your favorite beer – getting a full-sized kegerator would be the best bet!
However, there are certain benefits attached with investing in a mini one like they occupy smaller spaces, they use small kegs, so it is easy to finish the beer within time, and they are also affordable.
So, pick a size that meets all your requirements well.
• Assembly
Kegerators don’t come as is. They come in boxes and need to be assembled rightly. Before you buy a kegerator, read about its functionality and how it is to be assembled. This kind of information can be found through buyer reviews at e-commerce stores.
If the assembly of your kegerator is rocket science, you should reconsider it. Would you like to spend some extra bucks on the assembly of your kegerator? If yes, go for it and if no, move on to another option. However, it is mostly easy to assemble kegerators. But you shouldn’t take a chance!
• Tap
The other thing to consider is the tap configuration of your kegerator. How many taps do you want on your kegerator? Most people would go for one. However, to perk things up a notch, a kegerator can be available in multiple options of tap configurations. These include single tap options, dual tap options, and even three tap options! Also, to keep the carbonation of your beer intact, some tap systems also come with a CO2 cartridge that helps supply CO2 to your beer.
Also, the advanced tap systems also come with pressure regulators that help you form the right head of a beer. So, know what you’re looking for, browse your options, and go for it!
• Cost
Now, this is the main factor to consider because, in the end, you can only spend as per your budget. As for cost, mini kegerators turn out to be the cheaper ones as compared to full-sized ones. However, you have to look for other features as well – so pick the best combination of great features and a reasonable price
Verdict !
All these portable kegerators are the best options to consider when buying one for you or to gift others. So, consider these options before you make a purchase. Buying a beer kegerator is not something you do every day, and if you want to make a smart investment, you must consider all your available options.
Make a pick from all the available options – you’re just one purchase away from enjoying draft beer for the rest of your life! So, go ahead and make the right decision. We will keep educating you about your favorite drink – beer – and the different ways to enjoy it to the best! Cheers!
