The Best Kegerators for Storing Drinks in Your Home

What to Look for in a Kegerator

Cold Temperature and Pressure Consistency

Excessive beer foaming is one of the biggest challenges you'll face when using an at-home kegerator. Seitz explains that too much foam comes from either a change in temperature or a change in pressure.

"This is slightly counterintuitive, but gas (like CO2) dissolves into liquid more easily when that liquid is cold, so keeping your beer cold is of paramount importance, and having a thermometer will help guide you," says Seitz. He adds that setting the pressure between 5-10 PSI is usually a best practice. In general, the longer and more narrow the tubing is between the keg and faucet, the less foaming you'll have. You also want to check that your beer stays cold as it moves through the tubing.

"You want to make sure cooling from the refrigeration basically "hits" the tubing all the way to the faucet if possible. Inevitably in the life of a kegerator/refrigerator, the cooling mechanism will become dirty and dusty, and reduce the cooling effectiveness. If you are handy and can get to the cooling coils, you can lightly dust off the coils with a soft painter's brush," he adds.

Number of Taps

Most kegerators can have between one and three taps, with the dual and triple options often costing quite a bit more. This means that you can have multiple types of beer or other beverages available at once, depending on the size and capacity of your kegerator. Single tap kegerators are generally easier to find and more affordable.

Compatible Keg Size

Before choosing a kegerator, make sure that it works with the size of the keg you intend to buy. Some specific brands, such as Heineken, have specific keg sizes that may not work with all kegerators. Keg size indicates both the base and height of the keg, not just the capacity.

"Even our highest-consuming customers always ordered beer in 5.1-gallon keg sizes (also called a "sixtel" because it is one-sixth of a barrel (common unit of volume measurement in the brewing world)," says Seitz.

"The reason why these super-fans always order in 5.1-gallon keg sizes is because they know that fresh beer (especially hoppy beer) always tastes better fresh than old stale beer that has been sitting in a keg for too long."

He adds that ideally, you want to be turning over a keg once a month, so pick the smallest container size you feel comfortable with, turn your kegs over often, and support your local brewery when you can.

Installation Type

Free-standing kegerators are easy and portable but often require some clearance to properly ventilate and keep your beer cold. Built-in kegerators have front ventilation but can’t be moved. For the best of both, look for a front ventilated kegerator with caster wheels, should you want to move it later.

Why Trust The Spruce?

This article was researched and written by Katie Begley, a freelance writer specializing in home and family products. Katie has been writing for The Spruce since 2019. She spent hours testing, researching, and compiling data on kegerators for this roundup. She considered each model's ventilation, refrigeration system, and portable design.

For this article, she also included reviewer feedback, personal experience, and expert insights, including those of veteran bartender and North Carolina bar manager Brent Michaelwoods. Additional insight was provided by Michael Seitz, co-founder of Barebottle Brewing Co.