KegWorks Blog

I know what you need. You need draft beer, on tap, in your very own home. That’s right… free flowing draft beer, any time you want it, in the comfort of your living room, or porch, or wherever it is you like to sip delicious draft beer. What better time than Spring to convert an old fridge or freezer into a kegerator? Do it now, and you’ll have it all summer long… not to mention for the rest of the year and every year after.

Not sure what it takes to get draft beer at home? Not looking to spend a load of cash to get it? I’ve got the perfect solution, and install tips to boot. A kegerator conversion kit is the cost effective way to get what you want, and get it now. And it’s easier than you think… check out our instructional video on how to convert a refrigerator into a keg fridge:

Now that you know how easy it is, what are you waiting for? Still weary and in need of more info on draft beer at home? Check out KegWorks Community, our new home bar and draft beer help section, and get what you want on tap.

TAGS [ DRAFT BEER | KEGERATOR | KEGERATOR CONVERSION ]

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Did you know that you cannot get a clear glass of beer if you pour clear beer on top of foam? Try it and see for yourself. Open your draft system’s faucet only little bit, so it sputters and you get about a half inch to an inch of foam in the bottom of an empty, clean pint glass. Close the faucet all the way. Then open the faucet all the way, tilt the glass to 45-degrees and try to pour clear beer onto the foam. All you get is more foam. What’s happening is that the agitated foamy beer, with all its CO2 breaking out of it on the bottom of the glass, is agitating the clear beer being poured on top of it. So start with a clean glass or pitcher, free of foam, and you will get a better pour every time.

TAGS [ DRAFT BEER | DRAFT BEER TIPS | POURING BEER | BEER | DRAUGHT BEER ]

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As Americans we have all heard about the strange beer drinking habits of the British; namely, they like their beer warm and flat. The warm, flat brew that many Americans find so strange is the traditional beer of Britain and is known as real ale or cask ale. Real ale is a term developed by CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) in the early 1970s to differentiate traditional locally brewed British cask conditioned ale from the bland, cold, fizzy mass-produced lagers being mass marketed by large national breweries which began to threaten the existence of cask ale.

CAMRA defines real ale as “name for a draught (or bottled) beer brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed and served without the use of extraneous gas [added CO2].” The draft equipment we sell at KegWorks is used primarily to dispense American keg beer, and if everyone drank real ale in the US, we would have a very different draft beer product line. Keg beer in America is non-pasteurized beer (keg beer produced in other countries may be pasteurized) dispensed with gas pressure from a pressurized vessel; that pressurized vessel being a steel keg. Because real ale is served without “extraneous gas,” it usually has less carbonation than beer from a keg, since the only carbonation occurs naturally by secondary fermentation in the cask. Real ale is served at cellar temperature, around 55-degrees Fahrenheit, while keg beer in America is served refrigerated at about 38-degrees Fahrenheit.

I worked for a summer at the Turf Tavern, a pub in Oxford, England, that specialized in real ale (when I worked there I think there were 13 casks on tap that changed daily). I found myself endlessly explaining what real ale is to summer students and tourists from the US. I learned that the best way to easily explain the difference between real ale from a cask and US keg beer was to liken real ale to red wine and US keg beer to white wine. White wine, like most domestic beers, is served cold and tends to have a light mouth feel and sharper flavor profile. While red wine, like real ale, is served at cellar temperature and tends to have a heavier mouth feel and mellower blended flavor profile. I like both styles of wine, and depending on any number of factors, at certain times I may want a glass of red and other times I prefer a glass of white. I feel the same about cask ale and refrigerated lagers. Maybe my comparison is not completely accurate in all cases, but in the broadest general terms I find it apt, and it was a helpful teaching tool, provided the recipient of my wisdom drank both red and white wine.

Real ale is starting to gain popularity in the US, and I for one could not be happier. In Buffalo, my local bar of choice, Mr. Goodbar has a cask on Fridays for happy hour and some other special occasions. I have found this site that seems to be pretty up to date listing real ale bars by state. If you want to attend a real ale festival, check out the New England Real Ale Exhibition outside of Boston, April 30th to May 3rd. I’ll be there! So watch this space for more about real ale and my reflections on NERAX.

New England Real Ale Exhibition
April 30 - May 3, 2008
Somerville, Massachusetts
For more info, check out NERAX.org

TAGS [ REAL ALE | CASK ALE | DRAFT BEER | CAMRA | NERAX | TURF TAVERN ]

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The Brewers Association recently released their 2008 Beer Style Guidelines. The beer industry’s focus on developing craft beer was evident in the new categories that were added to the guidelines this year. Five of the 11 new categories introduced into the guidelines were added just for barrel-aged beers!

The Brewers Association President, Charlie Papazian, explained the guiding principles and their importance by saying, “These guidelines help to illustrate the growth of craft brewers in the United States and also offer insight and a foundation for helping appreciate the hundreds of beer types brewed for the beer lover.”

I’m all for appreciating each and every type of beer out there, so I’m all for Charlie’s rationale. Bring on the beer! The more types of brew, the better!

Upon conducting some research, I realized that the guidelines have actually been around longer than I have. The Brewers Association has provided these beer style descriptions since 1979. Since then, brewers and beer competition organizers have used the guidelines as an important reference point. There is a method for developing the official guidelines. Each year, the Brewers Association looks to the commercial brewing industry, beer analyses and consultations with beer industry experts and experienced beer enthusiasts for information while developing the style guidelines.

The following are the newest categories, added for 2008:

Fresh Hop Ale
Ales which are hopped exclusively with fresh and un-dried (”wet”) hops.

American-Belgo Styles Ales
These beers portray the unique characters imparted by yeasts typically used in fruity and big Belgian-style ales.

Leipzig-Style Göse
The original versions of this style of beer were spontaneously fermented German ales, similarly to Belgian-style gueuze/lambic beers.

Belgian-Style Blonde Ale
Belgian-style blonde ales are characterized by low yet evident hop bitterness, flavor and sometimes aroma.

Australasian-Style Pale Ale
This style is a mild, pale, light-bodied ale with a color varying from light to amber. Hop bitterness and flavor range from very low to low.

Out of Category - Traditionally Brewed Beers
There are many excellent and popular beers that are brewed with traditional ingredients and processes, yet their character may vary from styles currently defined or included in these guidelines.

Barrel Aged Beer categories:

Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer
Any lager, ale, or hybrid beer, either a traditional style or a unique experimental beer that has been aged for a period of time in a wooden barrel or in contact with wood.

Wood- and Barrel-Aged Pale to Amber Beer
Any classic style or unique experimental beer that has been aged for a period of time in a wooden barrel or in contact with wood.

Wood- and Barrel-Aged Dark Beer
Any classic style or unique experimental style of dark beer beer can be wood or barrel-aged for a period of time in a wooden barrel or in contact with wood.

Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer
Any strong classic style or unique, experimental style of beer can bee wood or barrel-aged for a period of time in a wooden barrel or in contact with wood.

Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer
A wood- or barrel- aged beer is any lager, ale, or hybrid beer, either a traditional style or a unique experimental beer that has been aged for a period of time in a wooden barrel or in contact with wood and has developed a bacterial induced natural acidity.

For more information and the full version, visit 2008 Brewers Association Beer Styles Guidelines.

No matter what style you’re into, we’ve got the couplers, faucets and glassware to get it on draft. One of the best ways to stay up on new types of beer is to make regular trips to your local breweries. I suggest grabbing a growler or a bunch of growlers, choosing a few different types and emailing KegWorks whenever you find something delicious!

TAGS [ BEER | DRAFT BEER | BEER STYLE | BEER STYLE GUIDELINES | BARREL AGED BEER ]

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When we originally posted our St. Patrick’s Day Countdown banner, the big day still seemed very far away. As it gets closer, I am becoming increasingly more excited. Last year my friends and I braved a huge nor’easter that slammed the East coast to travel from Buffalo, New York to Boston, Massachusetts for some serious St. Pat’s celebrating. This year, I’m staying home. I have plans to attend the legendary Buffalo St. Patrick’s Day Parade for the first time, which is awesome and I know that it will be an incredible time (and quite a bit cheaper). I’m thinking that I’ll grab some flashy beads, sweet St. Patrick’s Day hats and one of our sweet new Guinness hoodies for the parade and then have an after-party at my place.

There is one beer that is obviously essential to any proper St. Patrick’s Day festivities and the good news is that it’s easy to serve Guinness at home. Cans and bottles of everyone’s favorite Irish stout can be pricey, especially when you’re having a party. Save your money for shots of Jameson at the pub and serve Guinness Draught on tap this St. Patty’s Day and all year round. With one of our Partial Guinness Conversion Kits it’s simple to convert your existing draft system into a Guinness dispensing machine. Yum! The conversion kit comes with the European specialty faucet that you’ll need for that famous Guinness pour, the Guinness keg coupler and a CO2 regulator to nitrogen air tank adapter.

So if you’re like me and you’re looking for ways to make St. Patrick proud, do something legendary this March 17th and get Guinness on tap. The luck of the Irish is always good, but their beer is even better.

Slainte!

TAGS [ GUINNESS | DRAFT BEER | GUINNESS DRAUGHT | ST PATRICKS DAY ]

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Witness the blessed union of video games and beer: the Gamerator. As you can see, it looks like the result of an old Pac-Man arcade cabinet canoodling with a kegerator. Who knew they could make such beautiful music together?

News of this nifty contraption has been making the internet rounds for a little while. Although the eBay auction is closed, I felt compelled to comment based on my interest in video games and beer. The clever hybrid definitely didn’t go unnoticed, so I imagine it’s only a matter of time before another one (or more) becomes available.

A quick cautionary tale regarding beer and video games: when I had more time on my hands I used to host Halo 2 LAN parties with a bunch of friends (Yeah, I’m a giant nerd, so what?). For those who don’t know, in Halo, you and your team of cybernetically enhanced super-soldiers run around futuristic settings gunning down other cybernetically enhanced super-soldiers. Chops get busted as mayhem ensues.

Anyway, it was a BYOB affair and, much to my wife’s chagrin, sometimes it got a little rowdy. Not surprisingly, those of us imbibing also became drastically less effective killing machines as the night wore on. After countless hours of “research” using myself as a guinea pig, I can confirm that quality of play is inversely proportional to amount of beer consumed. It gets a lot harder to score a sniper headshot or drive a virtual all-terrain vehicle after a few beers.

I came up with an extremely scientific formula to easily understand the concept: (Me + (Beer x 3+) = Repeated Death). Other possible results include broken controllers, profanity and hurt feelings (of my more sensitive teammates). The lesson is don’t drink and game. If you must game, for crying out loud, game responsibly!

TAGS [ GAMERATOR | DRINKING GAMES | KEGERATOR ]

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As a professional marketing guru (self proclaimed of course), I can affirm that marketing isn’t always just about making a sale. Sometimes marketing is about making a sale and sending out an important message. For example, InBev (the company behind the Belgian pilsner Stella Artois) is sending out a pretty big message with their upcoming marketing campaign. The message (intended for Stella enthusiasts across the UK) is a slightly warmer and friendlier version of “Stop stealing, ya bloody jerks!”

Stella Artois branded chalice glassware seems to be disappearing from pubs and bars across the world at an alarming rate. According to Stella representatives, nearly 400,000 of the glasses have gone missing in recent months, putting pressure on InBev to fund replacements next year. Even worse, the stolen goods are consistently being sold on eBay for close to $15 US dollars a piece.

So how does Stella plan to convince people to stop stealing? By giving the glasses away of course!

A promotion set to run in major retail supermarkets across the United Kingdom entitles consumers who buy two 20-bottle cases of the lager to one free glass.

A spokesman for Stella Artois says: “On average, the drink stays 23% colder than when served in an average pint glass, so of course we understand why consumers want to get their hands on them. But, if you want to create the perfect pint experience at home, take part in our off-trade promotion instead of stealing them from our on-trade consumers.”

I’m anxious to find out if this promotion actually impacts the popular five-finger discount on Stella, or backfires by simply forcing the company to “give away” more glassware. Us marketing folk really are a risky bunch…

If you want to avoid bars & pubs full of thievery, the solution is simple… keep Stella on tap at home. All you’ll need is our European Sankey Coupler and some personalized Grand Pilsner Glasses – they’ll keep all of your favorite pilsners (including Stella) nice and cold and they’re personalized, so no one can accuse you of stealing them.

TAGS [ STELLA ARTOIS | PILSNER | DRAFT BEER ]

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