Beer Dispensing Equipment

There are basically five different ways to dispense draft beer.

Picnic Pump:  If you are having a party and will only be using the beer dispensing equipment for a limited amount of time , then you can use a picnic pump. Picnic pumps are usually available from the liquor store when you purchase a keg of beer. A picnic pump typically is a metal body with a cylinder that you pump air into the keg and a finger valve for dispensing the product. It is key to have the keg iced down in a barrel of ice to keep it at the proper temperature. We rent picnic pump in the event you need to rent one. Our rental price is $15.00 for 3 days with a $50.00 deposit.

Jockey boxes:  A Jockey box is another type of beer dispensing equipment. A Jockey box will have either a cold plate or stainless steel coils in a cooler that the beer goes through. 

The cold plate or stainless steel coils need to have ice on top of them to keep the beer going through the box chilled. The coils connect to the beer faucets on the outside of the cooler box. You can set the cooler on a table and the kegs behind it for a cleaner look. Unlike the picnic pump you will need a Co2 bottle to pressurize the kegs for pouring the beer. We rent jockey boxes for $65.00 for 3 days with a $200.00 deposit. The gas is priced separately. We will modify the couplers and faucets for the beer you are pouring.

Kegerators:  To pour beer at home on a permanent basis you can purchase a kegerator or you can convert an existing refrigerator into a kegerator. The kegerators come in two varieties: one is a commercial model that has a fan motor to circulate cold air around the keg inside the box or the less expensive option just uses cold coils inside the box to chill down the air and are usually the ones marketed for home use. You can also convert an existing refrigerator into a kegerator for home use. If you want to keep your kegerator outside you will want a commercial model. The design of the commercial models adjusts to outdoor temperatures and will not affect the cooling of the unit thus affecting the temperature of the beer in the kegerator.  All residential model kegerators require adjustments for altitude to pour correctly in Colorado.  Because of the thinner air at Colorado altitude, and higher, more pressure is required to pour beer correctly.  However, when increasing the pressure more restriction needs to be added to the system.  If your system has the pressure set at 12 or below and you live in Colorado, you are not pouring beer efficiently and correctly.  We are here to assist anyone struggling with their kegerators performing correctly.

Refrigerator kegerator:  To complete the transformation you will need to remove all the shelves and produce bins inside the refrigerator to accommodate the keg of beer.  On some models of refrigerators you may need to build a bottom shelf to set the keg on due to the angle inside the refrigerator.   The freezer can be used to chill down your glasses for a frosty cold draft beer.  The rest of the parts needed to convert the refrigerator are beer line, air line, faucet, shank, coupler, regulator, co2 tank, tail pieces, hexnuts and clamps.

Commercial model kegerator:  This kegerator is available in several options. Some of the options are direct draw boxes, air systems or glycol draft systems. Direct draw boxes are a self-contained refrigerator usually on castors to make them more mobile and can hold from 1 to 5 kegs of beer depending upon the model. A forced air system is used when the beer tower is within 15 feet of the cooler. That is about the maximum distance for forced air. The installer will make and run a chase from the cooler to the bottom of the beer tower. The beer lines are run inside the chase and the fan motor circulates cold air from the cooler to the tower to keep the beer cold and pouring properly. For larger draft needs the option is a glycol system. Inside the trunk there are 2 to 4 glycol lines depending on the number of beer lines. The beer lines are run next to the glycol lines and taped, sealed and insulated to keep the beer cold from the keg cooler to the faucet A glycol unit is installed and hooked up to the glycol lines to circulate glycol on a continuous cycle 24/7 to keep the beer cold.

Maintaining your beer dispensing equipment

No matter what type of beer system you have it should be cleaned on a regular basis to keep the growth of bacteria and yeast to a minimum and your beer pouring properly.

Trouble-shooting your beer dispensing equipment

If your beer is pouring foamy it is usually either temperature or pressure.  First steps to check are:

1. Is the keg of beer in a cold environment?  Whether you are using a picnic pump or a commercial model kegerator - the keg of beer has to be cold.  Is the keg has had sufficient time to chill down in its environment go to the next step.
2. The pressure set on the regulator is the applied pressure going into the keg.  There are several factors in determining the correct pressure for your environment and beer.  A basic example and rule of thumb is multiply 3 by the length of your beer line for most domestic beers in a single keg environment.
3. If the first two steps do not resolve your issue, the next step is to inspect the equipment.  Beer is very sensitive and can't experience any type of turbulence through the beer dispensing equipment.  If you live in Colorado, please contact us to bring your equipment to us to inspect or setup a time for us to come to you to inspect.  If you are outside Colorado, please contact us to discuss your equipment and we will try to help resolve your issue over the phone or through email.