KegWorks Blog

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 ]

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 ]

Most beer lasts four to nine months on the shelf. How do you know the beer you are buying is fresh? If you’re purchasing a beer brewed by Anheuser-Busch (Budweiser, Bud Light, Michelob etc.) just check out the “Born on Date” to tell you when the beer was bottled. For all other brews, you may have a harder time trying to read the code on the side of the label. Other breweries use pull dates (the date after which a product should no longer be sold) or a Julian date system. Here is a great chart I found on this site to help you decipher the code.

TAGS [ BEER | BEER CODES | FRESHNESS DATE ]

For holiday and outdoor parties, make your CO2 system portable. If you have a single tap tower or converted fridge, you have almost all the items needed to take you system wherever a keg needs to be tapped. You’ll just need to pick up our Picnic Pump Rod and follow 3 easy steps:

1. Unscrew the beer line from the top of the coupler and your faucet from your tower or door shank.

2. Attach the Picnic Pump Rod to the threaded beer out fitting on top of the coupler, just like you would attach a beer line.

3. Attach your faucet to the Picnic Pump Rod and you are ready to tap a keg.

When everything is all set, up the portable system will look just like this.

TAGS [ DRAFT BEER | DRAFT SYSTEM | PORTABLE DRAFT BEER ]

We are not talking about the four-legged canine type or the sound your stomach makes before dinner – we’re talking about the kind that carries fresh beer from a brewery to your house. There are many ideas as to the origins of the growler, so let’s take a look at some of them.

At the turn of the century, fresh beer was carried from the local pub to one’s home by means of a small, galvanized pail. Rumor has it that when the beer sloshed around the pail, it created a rumbling sound as the CO2 gas escaped through the lid – thus the term “growler” was born.

In the 30’s and 40’s, kids used to bring covered buckets of draft beer from a local brewery to workers at lunchtime, or to their parents at dinnertime, a practice called “rushing the growler.”

After World War II, waxed cardboard containers with lids were used to take home beer – they were round and resembled take-out Chinese soup containers. In many US states, it was illegal to sell draft beer on Sunday. So if you wanted beer on Sunday you went to the bar on Saturday and bought one of these containers of draft beer. By the late 60’s many bars had switched to plastic containers and were allowed to sell packaged beer after hours. Soon after, many states allowed Sunday sales of beer at liquor stores, and the need for growlers of any kind dwindled.

In the early 80’s, Newman Brewing in Albany, NY used to sell plastic gallon containers of their beer. Apparently if you brought back the empty to the brewery, they would replenish it with more beer.

One claim to the modern day growler comes from 1989, when Charlie Otto and his father were discussing the dilemma facing the Otto Brothers Brewery. They wanted to offer beer-to-go for their local customers, but could not afford to bottle their beer at the time. Father Otto suggested using the covered-bucket type of growlers, but Charlie recognized the need for an updated package type. He purchased a small silkscreen machine and soon began putting the Otto logo on half-gallon glass bottles that resembled moonshine jugs.

The modern-day growler was born!

Today, these half-gallon jugs are filled straight from the beer tap and are sealed with a twist-cap. KegWorks has the actual growler for sale and the handy growler filler, making it easy to enjoy the wide variety of beers available for use with a growler, including my favorite, Sled Dog beer by Wagner Valley. Enjoy!

TAGS [ DRAFT BEER | GROWLER ]

Want to keep and serve two different beers at once from your converted refrigerator? Then follow these easy steps to add a second beer line!

1. Start with the airside first. Get our new 2-Way CO2 Distribution Bar with Shut Off Valves. With this distribution bar, you no longer have to remove the air outlet from your regulator. Simply connect the airline to the air input and run your two airline jumpers to your couplers. The 2-Way Distribution Bar easily and conveniently mounts to the wall of the fridge with two screws (not included).

2. You will need two new airlines to connect the distribution bar to your couplers.

3. Select a coupler. With your new two tap set up, you could serve an American beer like Bud, and a European beer like Heineken using a European Sankey Coupler.

4. Once you have chosen a coupler, you will need a new beer line jumper to connect the coupler to the appropriate length faucet shank for you refrigerator door.

5. Then select a faucet. Why not upgrade to something nice like the new Vent-Matic? This is the faucet I use on my kegerator. The all stainless steel faucet will improve the performance of your system and the taste of your beer.

6. Finally, select a new tap handle. You can get a functional unbranded handle or, see if you can match your new beer line to your beer with one of our branded tap handles.

Once you get your new equipment, all you will have to do is decide where to drill 7/8-inch hole in the fridge door for the faucet shank.

TAGS [ DRAFT BEER | KEGERATOR | BEER LINE ]

Have you ever poured a beer into a glass and had the head of foam disappear too quickly? Or maybe the beer tasted off? If so, your glass wasn’t ‘beer-clean.’ A glass that isn’t beer-clean can produce flat, headless and off-tasting beer. Fat or grease based residues such as milk, dish soap, lipstick or fingerprints can leave a clear film on the glass. The film on the glass causes a rapid release of the carbonation in the beer, which causes it to go flat. Off-tasting beer can be caused by odors absorbed into the glass by milk, stale air, smoke, food from refrigerated environments and drying towels.

How to tell if your glass is beer clean?
When a beer is poured, there should be a tight head of foam that is about 3/4 to 1-inch from the top of the glass. If the foam dissipates quickly, the glass isn’t beer-clean. When the beer is being consumed, rings of foam will stick to the sides of the glass. If they do not stick, the glass isn’t beer-clean.

How do you clean the glass at home?
The easiest way to get your glasses beer-clean is to use a dishwasher. Dishwashers are great because the detergent used is a non-sudsing, non-fat cleaning compound that doesn’t leave film on the glass. Dishwashers also use a high heat to air dry the glasses.

Another way to clean your glasses would be to use an inexpensive manual glass brush along with a glass sanitizer. Rinse twice in cool, clean water and air dry in your dish rack. Do not dry your glasses with a dishtowel; the glass could absorb the odors from the towel and leave lint in the glass.

Another quick suggestion:
Only use your beer glasses to serve beer!

TAGS [ DRAFT BEER | PINT GLASSES ]