Kegerators Blog

New Year’s Eve has always been a night to celebrate and rejoice – to ring out the old year and ring in the new one. This is one of the biggest nights of the year for parties and get-togethers, and therefore is a night that kegerators get put to good use.

While many people associate champagne with New Year’s Eve, the truth is that most people do not spend the night drinking champagne only. If they did, they’d probably have a wicked hangover the next day, not to mention the expense that the bubbly would wind up setting them back. Instead, most people spend the night enjoying their favorite drinks among friends, possibly making a champagne toast sometime around the stroke of midnight.

So, if you are planning a party for New Year’s Eve and are fortunate enough to own a kegerator, you’re in luck! Kegerators are a great way to provide alcoholic beverages for a crowd easily and economically. Buying a keg, or a half keg of beer as many kegerators hold, is a lot cheaper than buying an equal amount of beer in cans or bottles. And it is certainly a lot less expensive than buying wine or hard liquor for a crowd.

Not only is a kegerator an inexpensive way to provide drinks at a party, but it is fun, too! Most people love the idea of using a real beer keg in someone’s home and a kegerator makes them feel like they are out at a bar, except they can operate the tap on their own – and without having to tip the bartender! The beer dispensed in a kegerator is usually ice cold and super fresh, just like a draft beer would be at the local bar. When you host a party and own a kegerator, the appliance usually becomes the central gathering point of the party and is where all the fun begins.

So, if you are planning on hosting a New Year’s Eve celebration this year, break out the kegerator, make sure it’s full (or that you have a spare keg on hand ready to be tapped) and make your guest list. Then get some munchies or ask everyone to bring their favorite snack and turn on some good music. To really make the evening festive, you can even consider hanging a few decorations or even just a couple of bunches of balloons, and getting some hats and noisemakers. Party stores often have News Year’s Eve party kits, complete with hats, tiaras, noisemakers and even confetti so that everyone can be well-outfitted when the glittering ball starts to drop in Times Square.

Kegerators are a great way to enjoy the celebration of the impending new year, but it is important to make sure that all guests drink responsibility and that they do not head out on the road if they’ve had a few too many. Better to be safe than sorry and either have designated drivers, call cabs to get your friends and loved ones home, or turn your New Year’s Eve celebration into a slumber party, so everyone can crash until the next morning. After all, if you let everyone stay, the celebration can continue into New Year’s Day!

Christmas Eve. In popular songs, it’s a night filled with wonder and hope, excitement and anticipation. At least if you’re a kid. As a small child, you put on your new pair of jammies and hustle off to bed, awaiting the arrival of the jolly ol’ man himself and all the gifts that he brings. For some, sleep comes quickly, because they know that Santa can’t arrive until they are fast asleep. For others, the excitement of what is to come makes them toss and turn all night long.

But what if you’re an adult on Christmas Eve? Chances are that you have loads to do to make the upcoming Christmas Day one that is extra special. There may be gifts to wrap, trees to decorate, lights to hang, and food to prepare for family and friends. Feeling a bit overwhelmed? That’s why it’s a good idea to tap into your home kegerator to set the mood and make the long to-do list a bit more palatable.

If you have a kegerator, or even a mini kegerator, you probably already know how good it can taste to fill up a nice cold, frosty mug of beer. On a night such as Christmas Eve, which can sometimes turn into a stressful time filled with lots to do, a kegerator can be a lifesaver – giving you a chance to relax and unwind a bit as you cross things off your list one by one.

Sure, you can also open a can or bottle of beer that’s sitting in the fridge, but the taste of a draft beer straight from the kegerator tap is smooth and appealing on a busy winter night. And chances are, there’s no room in your fridge anyway because it’s filled with all the fixings for tomorrow’s big holiday meal. So, unless you have an extra fridge in the garage or basement, or you have a kegerator, you may not have access to that great tasting beer at all.

Why drink beer on Christmas Eve, rather than wine or even egg nog?
We’re not saying you can’t, but if you like beer, you like beer. Wine can make you sleepy, and you can’t afford to be sleepy on a night like this – there’s too much to do. Egg nog is a great drink to have once you’re all gathered together in celebration of the holiday, but it is rather heavy and sweet and is not the type of drink you typically have on its own, without the accompanying holiday festivities.

So, once you get the kids to bed, why not thinking of heading over to your kegerator with your spouse and taking a few minutes to share a refreshing beer together as you plan your night’s activities. Then you can divide up the chores, put on some festive music, and get to wrapping, and decorating, and preparing food for the day ahead. Make it a point to reconvene by the kegerator, or by the fireplace if you’re looking for something cozy, at the end of the evening, to maybe share one last drink and rejoice in the excitement that the holiday brings, despite all the work that may be involved now that you’re an adult and not a wide-eyed child. Then call it a night, and head off to bed, dreaming of the joy-filled day that lies ahead.

Hopworks is a brewpub based in Portland, Oregon. Oregon is known for good beer and bikes, and Christian Ettinger, Owner & Brewmaster of Hopworks urban brewery, has combined those along with a determined commitment to sustainable brewing in all of his business endeavors with Hopworks. The Hopworks draft beer bike is a prime example of this commitment, a mobile, pedal-powered bar used to promote this business at beer festivals, street fairs, and other special events.

From the state of Oregon comes some of the most highly rated commercially available microbrews in the world. Rogue Brewery is well known as well as scores of smaller operations, such as Deschutes Brewery, Full Sail Brewing, and Captured! by Porches. Perhaps it has something to do with the great amount of fine hops that grow throughout the Cascadia region.

Oregon is also host to quite a few bicycle enthusiasts. Many clubs are operational in Oregon, including mutant bicycle clubs such as a chapter of the Black Label Bike Club, C.H.V.C.K.E.N. 666, and old-school club from Portland, Chunk 666 bike club. These bike clubs build all sorts of mutant bicycles such as tall bikes (made from two bike frames welded together vertically), flame-throwing bikes, and lawn-mower bikes. Here, you can see a mutant tricycle built by Dingo Dizmal, formerly of the Alberta Street Clown House (now gentrified out of existence in Portland, OR):

With such an inspiring beer and bike scene, it is no wonder that Hopworks’ sustainable choice for promoting their beer was a custom bicycle bar. Hopworks Urban Brewery incorporates many aspects of thoughtful, efficient sustainability in their operation, including composting and rain barrels for rain water catchment. According to the Hopworks website, “Hopworks is 100% renewably powered and “cradle to gate” carbon neutral.” Although CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) emissions may contribute to climate change (used to be called global warming, but you must use the current terminology), additional CO2 definitely helps the hops and barley grow. Still, the Hopworks commitment to an ecologically clean operation is admirable as they pump out roughly 6,000 gallons of beer each year.

The Hopworks Beer Bike is a modified cargo bike that holds two kegs, two custom taps, a flat bar, sound system, and a rack that can hold three large pizzas! The bike itself was built by Portland, Oregon based Metrofiets. Mertofiets specializes in the building of custom cargo bikes, based upon Danish and Dutch cargo bikes with aesthetics melded from 1940s through 1960s American Bicycle designs. Their work is artisan quality, and Metrofiets has made more than one brew serving cargo bike – they also made the mobile coffee bike for Trailhead coffee roasters.

The Hopworks Beer Bike has appeared at many festivals and beer events in Portland, and always gets a lot of attention wherever it goes. This can be attested to by this discovery channel link  And from Make Online: