KegWorks Blog

BUFFALO, NY – Dot Com Holdings of Buffalo, Inc. DCHB has launched its fourth eCommerce Web Site called Beer Clothes, www.BeerClothes.com. Beer Clothes is a specialty site concentrating on beer branded clothing and accessories. “We have also added a few of our better selling alcohol and beer branded items from our flagship site KegWorks.com, like tin beer signs and bottle coozies,” said David Rivers, President and Owner of DCHB.

“We were getting so many requests from our customers for items that had their favorite beer logo on it” Rich Matson, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Beer Clothes said, “that we decided it would be a good idea to try to provide those products to them”. This started a two month long search for suppliers who had the proper license to produce and sell items with some of the biggest brand names in the beer and spirits industry. Making sure that each supplier had the proper credentials was pivotal in being able to assure a the consistency of quality and supply of each item chosen to go on the Beer Clothes web site.

The response “has been great,” says Matson. “We are noticing repeat customers and our order base expands into a new states weekly.” DCHB currently operates three other eCommerce sites: KegWorks.com which specializes in home bar and home draft beer equipment, DeluxeGrills.com which specializes in providing commercial grade BBQ Grills to the residential market, and LeftOnMain.com a home décor and kitchen appliance store.

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Are you ready for February 6th? You know what I am talking about, the Big Game between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles. It is a shame that there is only one game left in the NFL season, but thankfully it is the one that will crown this year’s champion.

What are you doing for the game? Are you going to your favorite bar to watch the game? Going to a friend’s house for a party? Or are you hosting your own $uper Bowl Party? If you are hosting your own party make sure you your fridge is fully stocked. Go get bags of pretzels, chips and dip and check out some of our great party supplies. Remember, you can never have too much ice!

Don’t forget, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. Start looking for gifts for your special someone.

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Stocking Your Home Bar

When your home bar is finally finished you will need to stock it so you can pour drinks and entertain. You will need to buy some bar supplies and bar accessories. You can break these down into three basic groups: alcohol, mixers, and bar accessories. What you finally decide to have behind the bar will depend on what drinks you serve the most of, but below are basics.

Bar Accessories:
These are some of the basics you will need to mix and serve your drinks. You may find many other bar tools that you like and some of the ones in the list you won’t use. That is what makes having your own bar fun, it reflects you and you tastes.

• Shot Glasses
• Cocktail Shaker
• Bar Caddy
• Bottle Openers
• Bar Mats
• Blenders
• Bottle Pourers
• Straws and Stirrers
• Margarita Glass Rimmer
• Glassware, Beer Mugs, Wine Glasses, Rocks Glasses
• Ultimate Home Bar Set up

Alcohol:
The brand names and types of alcohol that you use to stock your bar depend on your favorite brand and what type of drinks you like. So, if you like rum and cokes, you will want to stock up on those two.

• Rum
• Vodka
• Gin
• Whiskey
• Bourbon
• Tequila
• Schnapps
• Triple Sec
• Scotch
• Wine

There are many other types of liquor that you may choose to have depending on your personal preference.

Mixers:
Unless you are doing shots your mixed drinks will need to have a mixer, based on the drink this varies wildly. We have a variety of Cocktail Mixers at KegWorks. Below are some of the basics:

• Cola
• Orange juice
• 7-up
• Tonic water
• Soda water
• Iced tea
• Cranberry juice
• Pineapple juice

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Ahh, the time honored tradition of stopping off at a bar on your way home from work, on the last day of the work week to share a drink with co-workers and friends. Your favorite watering hole usually has a drink special and maybe some pretzels or popcorn to munch on. You know the bartender can’t wait for the work crowd to filter in to break up the boredom of the early afternoon shift. Pretty soon he’ll be wishing for the quiet bar he had just hours ago when 5 people are trying to his attention for a drink. How quickly things change!

Don’t forget this weekend is the AFC and NFC Championships. The winner of these games go on to the Superbowl. I expect to see Philly and Pittsburgh, a Pennsylvania Superbowl. If you’re having people over to watch the games this weekend and want to serve a something other than beer then you should check out some of the drink recipes at Bartv.com. Be sure to stock up on liquor, mixers, beer and chips before the game - you don’t want to run out at half time!

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They are the life of the party, they always cause a stir, and are always in the description of the party. What are they? Jello Shots.

Jello Shots are the ultimate party favor and are very easy to make. If you plan on serving Jello shots at your party you have two ways to go about it. You can make your own by using our list of Jello Shot Recipes or you use a pre-made Jello Shot Mix for some more exotic flavors. Either way, you can’t go wrong.

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(This tutorial also pertains to Beamish Stout, Murphy’s Stout and Boddingtons, although the keg couplers are different.)

Get Guinness on Tap at Home

We’ve had lots of inquires about dispensing Guinness, therefore we’ve created this short piece. In the United States we get basically three kinds of Guinness from Ireland. One is the bottled version which is very bitter and high in alcohol content. Then we have the draught version, dispensed from metal kegs and found in many bars and restaurants around the country. The draught version is low in alcohol and calories. It is characterized by its tight, creamy head of foam. The third version is the draft can. This is a 14.9 oz can sold in stores. The can has a small widget in the bottom that contains a small nitrogen charge. When the can is opened, the nitrogen is released which makes the beer come alive. The can version is close in taste to the actual keg version.

We will focus now on the draught version of Guinness (kegged).
Draught Guinness is a completely different animal from all other draft beers. There are three basic differences.

• Instead of using CO2 to push the beer through the lines, a nitrogen/CO2 blend is used for Guinness. It’s a mixed gas, all in one air tank. 25% CO2, 75% nitrogen. Set the regulator for 35 psi ± 3 psi on the gauge. The nitrogen is what gives Guinness its creamy, tight head that makes it pour and look unique. Just about every city in the country has a mixed gas dealer. Look under “gas” in the yellow pages. The Guinness Import Company goes to great lengths to make sure that gas dealers are properly blending air tanks with mixed gas. Ask your local Guinness distributor who they recommend. Some gas dealers will only fill a nitrogen tank with the mixed gas. Other dealers will fill a CO2 tank with the mixed gas. The only difference between the two kinds of tanks are the threads on it. You can still use your CO2 regulator with a nitrogen tank, all you need is a CO2 -Nitrogen Adapter.
• Now we have the keg coupler. This is the piece that fits onto the keg itself. Draught Guinness and Harp Lager use a coupler that is unique to those brands. It looks somewhat like the same coupler that Budweiser uses but there are differences.
• The last thing is the faucet. If you’ve watched a bar person pour a pint of Guinness, look at the faucet. It is different than all the other faucets. Sometimes it is called a European Specialty Faucet. There is a different type of handle on the faucet, it is pulled forward and down for the beer to come out. Also in the faucet is a tiny restrictor disc. The beer is forced through the disc, this is what helps give Guinness its unique head. There is also no waste (foaming over) with dispensing Guinness. These Specialty Faucets can be converted to dispense any other type of beer (i.e.: Bud, Miller, Coors etc.) by removing the restrictor disc/ flow straightener.

The bottom line to all this is that it is not impossible to pour Draught Guinness at home. The pieces to do it are just different. It is possible to convert an existing system to dispense Guinness. You’ll need to change your faucet, air tank, coupler and regulator.
You will be the envy of all your friends!!

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If you are like many of us, wine glasses are one of the least used items in your kitchen cabinets, but take up a lot of space. I used to have a whole shelf dedicated to stemware glasses and nothing else. Sure, on the weekend when I was having a glass of wine it made sense to keep them handy, but during the week when I was unloading the dishwasher and stacking cereal bowls 3 and 4 high it was annoying.

My solution was to use stemware glass racks. What are stemware glass racks? They are very similar to the glass racks you see in your local bar and restaurant. The more room you have, the larger size rack you can use. I didn’t have a lot of room so I used the a few of the single channel racks. There are many different sizes and colors of stemware glass racks or wine glass racks to choose from.

You can choose to mount these under your kitchen cabinets or above your bar. Installation is a breeze - if you know how to use a screwdriver, you can put these wine glass racks up.

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