The best part about owning a kegerator is having absurd amounts of beer (golden nectar of the gods) on tap. To be an informed owner, you need to know your keg sizes and how many beers they hold. I stress the importance of buying a large enough kegerator in most of my reviews. It sucks to buy a kegerator only to quickly discover it can’t even fit all full-sized kegs.
| 12 Ounce Servings | Pint Servings | Liters | Gallons | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mini (found on grocery store shelves) | 14.089167 | 10.5669 | 5 | 1.32086 |
Corny Keg (homebrew) | 53.333 | 40 | 18.9271 | 5 |
1/6 Barrel | 56.355 | 42.2675 | 20 | 5.2834 |
1/4 Barrel | 84.535 | 63.4013 | 30 | 7.925 |
Slim Quarter | 84.535 | 63.4013 | 30 | 7.925 |
50 Liter (European) | 140.8917 | 105.669 | 50 | 13.2086 |
1/2 Barrel (Full-Sized) | 165.33 | 124 | 58.6739 | 15.5 |
What is a mini keg?
A mini keg is a small five liter keg of beer found in many grocery stores. New Castle, Heineken, Coors Light, Grolsch and Paulaner are just a few of the common mini keg brands. This size keg holds slightly more than 14 twelve ounce beers. If you find it challenging to finish a mini keg in one setting, you are a light weight. Strike that, I meant to say you should consider investing in a mini kegerator. Krups and EdgeStar are the two most common manufacturers of mini kegerators. If you store the mini keg in one of these little kegerators, it can help keep it fresh for up to 30 days.
What is a corny keg?
Corny keg is short for cornelius keg. Some people also refer to these as soda kegs because the best ones are refurbished from Coke and Pepsi bottlers. Unfortunately, Coke and Pepsi switched to the bag in a box several years ago and cheap corny kegs are getting scare. The best source is usually CornyKeg.com. If you want a new overpriced one, here is the Amazon link for that. Just as a heads up, most people prefer ball lock to pin lock and the refurbished soda versions are actually better made than the newer versions. You just need to make sure the seals are good. Corny kegs are most commonly used for homebrew. Some of the larger kegerator, like a KC3000, can actually fit up to 3 corny kegs.
A corny keg holds 5 gallons of beer. This is equivalent to a little more than 53 twelve ounce cans. Said another way, these little kegs hold enough beer to get Andre the Giant shitfaced.
What is a sixth barrel keg?
A sixth barrel keg is commonly referred to a microbrew keg. This is the size you will commonly receive from your local small restaurant brewery. Liquor stores also sell some larger brand name beers this size, but the prices usually suck. Besides, you are looking at kegerators. You need to man up and buy larger amounts of beer than a sixth barrel. Some of the largest kegerators can actually hold 3 sixth barrel kegs too, but it isn’t uncommon to find a unit that holds 3 corny kegs can only hold 2 sixth barrels. Sixth barrel kegs hold 20 liters or a little over the equivalent of 56 twelve ounce beers. The main different between a corny keg and a sixth barrel, other than 3 extra beers, is that the lid of the corny keg can easily be removed to allow the homebrewer to refill it. A sixth barrel would require special equipment to fill.
What is a 50 liter keg?
A 50 liter keg doesn’t look noticeably different from a half barrel keg. This is more commonly thought of as a European import style keg. As the name would imply, it holds 50 liters or about 141 twelve ounce beers.
What is a half barrel keg?
Half barrel is kind of a misleading name because this is actually a full-sized keg. It holds about 165 twelve ounce beers.
