Kegerator is Finished...sort of

I am going ahead and posting a picture of the finished kegerator even though A it is not really finished and B I don't like the picture much and note that I have already cleaned it up quite a bit since the picture was taken. Since previous to the taps being installed my entire interaction came from the top down, I didn't notice how ugly the sides looked. The truth is you can't see it real well unless you are looking at it from a distance, but I have gone and cleaned the front and painted over some scratched and nicks. Additionally I am missing tap handles, but this tough as the ones I want run $35 a piece and I was not real happy about dropping another $175 on this project right now. I am also missing the pieces to connect the taps to the liquid, but I have had a tough time finding someone with all of the parts in stock and other than More Beer most places sell it in 3 separate parts. The single tap that is hanging out on the right is the one closest to the door and will be my root beer tap. The one on the farthest left will be cider and the 3 in the middle will be an assortment of beer. I put a bead of caulk in between the collar and the fridge to help seal some gaps and to help secure collar down. With the weight of the collar and the lid it is pretty stable, but the caulk should keep it from being jostled. I am pretty pleased with the results. I now have more storage room in the kegerator, although it is harder for me to reach the bombers I keep on the floor next to the kegs. I will make up for this by storing more in the floating basket on top. You can see that I also use this as a place to store my tailgate supplies. During football season this means all sorts of condiments, but right now it is just 2 bottles of mustard. I also have my yeast, hops and grain for my next brew, which should be a Nut Brown on Sunday.

Kegerator Update

I have finished building my collar and have removed the lid from the freezer. It looks good, I just need to drill holes for the taps and to run the hoses in plus attach the lid to the collar. Today the rest of my shanks and taps come in from Northern Brewer, so this weekend I should finish my install for at least one or two of the taps and may even be pouring 3 beers, 1 cider and a root beer from taps by Sunday. I have decided that once this is done I am chucking the rest of the 12 oz bottles I have sitting around in my garage and free up a little space. I am also extra motivated to clean out the garage to make it a little nicer to show off the finished kegerator.

I have kegged my Lefse Blonde, and took a few tastes although no full glasses. It has a nice Belgian character to it. It is not going to be a super easy drinking beer, but I already have the Mild on tap and am going to be brewing a nut brown next and planning an all grain cream ale after that. A complex beer on tap wouldn't hurt.