Whether you’ve got a full blown man-cave, an apartment in the city or just a dorm room, every man should be able to enjoy the luxury of ice cold beer straight from the tap in the comfort of his own home. The KC2000SS is a kegerator that can make that dream a reality for a man on almost any budget. Sure if you’re looking to outfit your dorm room you might have to eat ramen for a couple of months but that’s a small price to pay for fresh, ice cold keg beer.
The fine folks at kegerator.com recently made this dream a reality for me by sending out a KC2000SS. Now when you order this bad boy realize it comes in a big ass box that weighs 112 lbs. and UPS guys don’t exactly like 112 lbs. boxes. Be sure to have a couple of buddies on hand, who can later repay with keg beer, to help you get the big ass box into your residence. Or in my case an amazing and surprisingly strong fiancee.
Once you crack the box open you’ll find an EdgeStar mini-fridge, CO2 tank, keg tap and all the other tubing and accessories that you’ll need to get your kegerator up and running. Nothing is pre-assembled on the KC2000SS but it comes with step-by-step full color illustrated instructions to walk you through the entire process. You’ll need to find a place to swap or fill your CO2 tank and you’ll need a keg but once you’ve covered both those bases I’d say build time to beer in glass is about 30 minutes.
Adjusting the C02 pressure was easy and after a couple glasses of foam, expected from a freshly driven home keg, the KC2000SS started dispensing perfect glasses of Manny’s.
Being able to drink Manny’s at home is the absolute beauty of the KC2000SS. Manny’s is a beer brewed locally here in Seattle that is only available on tap at local bars. The KC2000SS lets me enjoy one of my favorite beers in the comfort of my own home with the same great fresh-from-the-tap taste I’d generally have to pay $4.00 a pint for in a bar. I decided to kick off my kegerator experience with a pony keg because 1) I only had my fiancee to help me carry it in the house and 2) I didn’t want to get sick of one of my favorite beers. The Georgetown Brewing Company says their half/pony keg holds 62 pints and it retails for $80.00. I’ll do the math for you and tell you that’s $1.29 a pint for a savings of about $2.71 a pint. So with a similarly priced beer it would take you about 2.5 half/pony kegs to break even on the KC2000SS’s purchase price but who really gives a shit. The point is you can drink and/or treat your friends to delicious, not available at the local mini-mart, beer for a price that no one, except the brew master himself, can beat.
A couple of things to keep in mind. The KC2000SS is 26 1/2 inches deep but the CO2 tank is stored in a rack on the back of the fridge unit which adds another 5 1/2 inches of depth. The overall depth isn’t a deal breaker but it’s something to keep in mind if you’re hoping to tuck the unit in somewhere and have it line up flush with something else. Also any full size or half/pony size keg is going to be a tight fit inside the fridge unit but they will fit. The depth at the bottom of the fridge is listed at 15 1/2 inches and the standard width/diameter of a full size or half/pony size keg is 16 1/8 inches. I know it sounds impossible but with the provided keg tray in the bottom and rotating the keg just right the door will close with a snug fit.
To sound like a talking head from any NFL/College football pre-game show the KC2000SS from kegerator.com has nothing but “tremendous upside potential.” At only $425.00 I don’t think you can find a kegerator that fits a full sized keg for any less. There are definitely more expensive kegerators out there and some that are probably even fancier but all you really need is something that pours cold beer and the KC2000SS does a hell of a job pouring cold beer.
These are only my initial impressions of the KC2000SS. In a couple of weeks when I’m able to have all the boys down we’ll really put this thing through the paces of a college football Saturday and I’ll let you know how it fairs.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Manny’s= Douche’s
You could also just get your Manny’s in growler form. Just 6 bucks for 4 pints (1.50 per pint), and no big investment in equipment or huge quantities of beer.
How do I schedule my time with the kegerator?