Cook Your Meat in a Beer Cooler By this point, there is absolutely no question that the method of cooking foods at precise low-temperatures in vacuum-sealed pouches (commonly referred to as "sous-vide") has revolutionized fine-dining kitchens around the world. There is not a Michelin-starred chef who would part easily with their Polyscience circulators. But the question of when this technique will trickle down to home users—and it certainly is a question of when, and not if—remains to be answered. The Sous-Vide Supreme, introduced last winter, and of which I am a big fan, is certainly a big step in the right direction. But at $450, for most people, it still remains prohibitively costly. In an effort to help those who'd like to experiment with sous-vide cookery without having to put in the capital, a couple weeks ago I devised a novel solution to the problem: Cook your food in a beer cooler. "a beer cooler is just as good at keeping hot things hot as it is at keeping cold things cold" Here's how it works: A beer cooler is designed to keep things cool. It accomplishes this with a two-walled plastic chamber with an air space in between. This airspace acts as an insulator, preventing thermal energy (a.k.a. heat) from the outside from reaching the cold food on the inside. Of course, insulators work both ways. Once you realize that a beer cooler is just as good at keeping hot things hot as it is at keeping cold things cold, then the rest is easy: Fill up your beer cooler with water just a couple degrees higher than the temperature you'd like to cook your food at (to account for temperature loss when you add cold food to it), seal your food in a plastic Ziplock bag*, drop it in, and close your beer cooler until your food is cooked. It's as simple as that. How to Clean Your Beer Taps One of the best options for cleaning your beer taps is to use a cleaning kit. A beer tap cleaning kit comes with all the equipment and chemicals you need to clean your system, and they come with easy-to-follow instructions. Instead of cleaning the taps themselves, many bar owners choose to use a cleaning service. Services are quick and convenient, and they ensure that your system is cleaned efficiently and regularly. How Often Should Beer Lines Be Cleaned? How regularly you should clean your beer tap system will depend on the volume of your business. High-volume nightclubs, sports bars, and banquet halls should clean their beer tap lines every week or two. Lower volume establishments only need to clean their draft lines every 2 or 3 weeks. How to Tap a Keg Beer Keg is an essential skill for bartenders. Here is how you can tap a keg in three easy steps: Attach the coupler to your gas cylinder. Make sure that you have the correct coupler for the beer you're serving, as using the wrong coupler can affect the gas pressure and how your beer pours. Open the gas valve and adjust the gas pressure. Most light beers, ales, and lagers should be dispensed at 10 - 12 PSI. Darker beers like porters and stouts should be dispensed at higher pressure levels, closer to 25 - 30 PSI. Take the dust cover off your keg. Attach your beer tap to the keg, ensuring that it is securely locked in place. Common Problems and Solutions for Beer Tap Systems Is there an issue with your beer tap system? Most issues with beer tap systems are a result of improper temperature, improper pressure, or cleaning issues. So before you call a technician next time you have an issue with your beer lines, check out this list of common problems and solutions. How to Choose the Right Draft Beer Tower There are many reasons one would want to upgrade their draft beer tower on an old kegerator or converted freezer. It might be that the kegerator you bought came with a cheap plastic tower. It may be that the tower you have does not have beer industry standard fittings. It may be that you want to serve something like Guinness? or cold brewed coffee and you need stout faucets to get the restricted flow necessary for that application. Maybe you find yourself filling taller glasses or growlers and need a tower with increased height to accommodate them. Perhaps you are tired of your faucets always being stuck and you're ready to switch to Perlick faucets for their forward-seat design that ensures smooth operation every time. You might just want to make sure that you have 100% stainless steel contact to make sure your system is as sanitary as possible and suitable for serving wine or cider. Tower Options Whatever the reason, Beverage Factory has a plethora of draft beer kegerator available with a host of finishes and an assortment of faucet options to choose from. We have basic single faucet towers all the way up to elaborate multi-faucet ceramic towers. We've got customizable T-Style towers that have the same column diameter as a standard kegerator tower, allowing you to easily switch them out with your existing tower. Generally, switching out your tower is as easy as unscrewing your old tower and screwing in your new one. Something to consider would be how your tower is currently connected. If, for example, you have a 2.5" diameter tower or a tower with a base that screws into the top of your kegerator and you want to replace it with a tower that has a 3" diameter, you will need to drill new screw holes to attach the new tower to the top of your kegerator. The kegerators that we have seen do not have coolant lines in the top of the cabinet so you can be 99% sure you're not going to damage anything by drilling into the top, but if you want to be 100% sure, it's a good idea to call the manufacturer of the model you're working with to ask. Another thing to consider is how wide the hole in the top of your kegerator is and if it will allow you to drop the beer line through the hole without removing the fittings on the end. If you are upgrading from a single faucet tower to a multi-faucet tower, you may not be able to push all the lines through without detaching one or all of the fittings. You can try pulling the nut back away from the end of the line to push the tube through and then squeezing the nut through afterward, but detaching and re-attaching the fittings may be the only answer. Usually, this just means removing the clamp that holds the beer line onto the hose nipple and then cutting the hose off to release the hose nipple and hex/wing nut that attaches it to your keg coupler. Once they are removed and the lines are pushed through the hole, you can re-attach them with a new clamp. If you are having a hard time getting the hose to slide over the hose nipple, putting the end of the hose in boiling water will make it more pliable. If, for some reason, you find that you cannot reuse the fittings you have removed, we have plenty of new fittings available. There are a few kegerator brands out there that do not use industry standard parts, so our industry standard fittings may not fit on the non-industry standard coupler that came with your kegerator, but we've got plenty of new keg couplers as well. Dispenser Types With beer dispenser, the beverages are kept inside the pressurized kegs until you pull the tap lever and pour it. It isn’t magic that pulls the brew through the hoses, it is science. Kegerators dispense the beverages using either CO2 or nitrogen gas. CO2 is the most common option for home brewers and beer aficionados. The fermentation process creates a natural level of CO2 when making the beer. Using CO2 to lift the brew to the tap is completely flavorless and preserves the natural carbonation of the beer, helping it maintain freshness in the keg longer. This is closer to the direct-pour taste, right out of the keg. Nitrogen dispensers are commonly associated with dark beers, like stout or porters, but also help preserve flavors in other beverages like wine or coffee. They produce smaller bubbles in the drink as it is dispersed and result in a “creamy” effect for some brews. When poured with a slow-pour, stout faucet, it produces a thicker foaming head on the beer. Beer aficionados, coffee addicts, and wine connoisseurs, consider every detail in pursuit of their passions. How their drinks of choice are served can have an impact on flavor, and some cold beverages just taste better out of a tap. Kegerators keep beverages fresh, perfectly aerated, and always at the ideal serving temperature. All it takes to experience your favorite on-tap drinks at home is a keg to pour from, the appropriate dispenser set up, and a refrigerator to keep it cool, which is exactly what you get with a beer kegerator. These specifically designed refrigerators not only hold multiple sized kegs of your chosen beverage, they do so at a specific temperature, alongside the tanks that allow it all to be dispensed directly from the keg, with just a pull of a faucet lever. It is the easy, classy way to enjoy your favorite beverage at home.