Quick Answer
A keg cooler is a refrigerated cabinet that holds kegs at a controlled temperature, usually +2°C to +10°C, so beer can be dispensed from a bar without a full cellar. Cask ale is traditionally kept at a cellar temperature of around 11–13°C, while keg products are commonly stored at a similar or cooler temperature and then chilled further through a python or flash cooler on the way to the tap. Caterzone stocks under-bar keg coolers from about £1,323 to £2,788 and large two-door keg rooms-in-a-box from about £3,350.
Caterzone supplies keg coolers to UK pubs, bars, clubs, event caterers, and restaurants that pour draught beer, and a keg cooler is often the answer when there is no cellar, the cellar is too far from the bar, or a site wants a second dispense point. It keeps kegs at a steady temperature right where they are poured, which protects the product and cuts waste.
This guide explains how keg coolers differ from cellar cooling, what temperature cask and keg products need, how pythons and line coolers fit in, how to size a cooler by keg count, running costs, UK rules, and what to look for when buying. Browse the commercial refrigeration collection as you read.
What is a keg cooler and when do you need one?
A keg cooler is an insulated, refrigerated cabinet designed around the shape and weight of beer kegs rather than shelves of food. Under-bar models sit beneath the counter at roughly bar height, with a heavy-duty floor that takes full kegs and enough internal height for a keg with its coupler fitted. Some models come with a riser and tap on top, so the cooler is a complete self-contained dispense unit; others are storage cabinets that feed an existing font through beer lines.
You typically need one when:
- The venue has no cellar, such as a restaurant, café bar, sports club, or marquee bar.
- The cellar is a long way from the bar and line runs would be expensive to cool.
- You want a separate dispense point, for example a terrace bar or a function room.
- You serve one or two guest kegs alongside bottled drinks and do not want to build a cold room.
A keg cooler does not replace a properly run cellar for a high-volume pub pouring cask ale. Cask beer needs to condition and settle in a stable cellar, and most busy pubs will still rely on a cellar cooling system. Keg coolers are the right tool for keg products where a cellar is impractical.
What temperature should beer be stored at: cask vs keg?
Cask and keg beer are stored differently because they are different products.
Cask ale is unfiltered and unpasteurised, and it finishes conditioning in the cask in the cellar. Industry guidance, including the Cask Marque standard, generally recommends a cellar temperature of around 11°C to 13°C, with cask ale served at roughly 11°C to 13°C. Too warm and the beer can spoil or turn hazy; too cold and it may not condition properly and can develop a chill haze.
Keg beer is filtered and usually pasteurised, and it is ready to drink when it arrives. Kegs are often stored in the same cellar as cask, then chilled further on the way to the tap through a python, flash cooler, or cooled font, because lagers and many keg products are served much colder, typically somewhere around 2°C to 8°C depending on the brand. When kegs are held in a dedicated keg cooler, the cabinet is usually set a few degrees above freezing up to around 10°C. The Tefcold CKC range and the Serrco keg coolers Caterzone stocks are rated +2°C to +10°C.
Always follow the brewer or supplier's recommended storage and serving temperatures for each product. They vary, and many suppliers will specify temperatures as part of their supply agreement.
How does python and line cooling work?
In a traditional pub, beer travels from the cellar to the bar through beer lines bundled inside an insulated tube known as a python. Alongside the beer lines, the python carries chilled water or glycol pumped from a remote cooler. The cold coolant keeps the beer at a stable temperature over the run, so the first pint of the session pours the same as the hundredth.
For colder serves, the beer then passes through a flash cooler or an ice bank cooler near the dispense point, which brings lager down to its serving temperature quickly. Cooled fonts on the bar help keep the last metre of line cold and stop fobbing.
The basics to understand before you buy:
- Short runs are easier. A keg cooler under the bar may need only a metre or two of line, so a python is often unnecessary.
- Long runs need cooling. Uncooled lines over a long run warm the beer between pours, which causes fobbing and waste.
- Line cleaning is not optional. Brewers generally recommend cleaning beer lines at least every seven days with a proper line cleaning solution. Dirty lines are the most common cause of off-flavours and poor pours.
Python installation, gas systems, and remote coolers are usually fitted and maintained by a specialist dispense technician or your brewer's technical team. Caterzone supplies the keg cooler cabinets; the dispense system should be set up by someone qualified for gas and dispense work.
Under-bar keg cooler, keg fridge with tap, or cellar cooling?
There are three main approaches, and the right one depends on volume, space, and the range you pour.
| Option | Best for | Typical capacity | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keg cooler with riser and tap | Restaurants, clubs, events, small bars | 1 to 3 kegs | Self-contained, plug-in, fast to set up | Limited range and volume |
| Under-bar keg storage cooler | Bars with fonts but no cellar | Around 189 to 359 litres internal, a few kegs | Fits under the counter, feeds existing fonts | Needs lines, gas, and font set up |
| Large two-door keg cooler | Busy bars with a back-of-house store | Around 584 to 1,825 litres | Many kegs in one cabinet | Large footprint, higher price |
| Cellar cooling system | Pubs with a cellar, cask ale | Whole room | Suits cask and keg, high volume | Installed project, highest cost |
A restaurant pouring one lager and one guest keg is well served by a keg cooler with a riser and two taps. A cocktail bar with fonts already installed but no cellar normally wants an under-bar storage cooler. A venue going through dozens of kegs a week, or serving cask, is in cellar cooling territory.
What size keg cooler do you need?
Size a keg cooler by the number and size of kegs you want cold at once, not by litres alone. In the UK, common keg sizes include 30 litre, 50 litre, and 11 gallon (about 50 litre) containers, and some craft products come in 20 litre or 30 litre kegs. Check the internal height and floor dimensions of any cooler against the kegs your supplier delivers, with the coupler fitted.
As a rough guide:
- One product, steady but modest sales: a single keg cooler such as the Blizzard single keg cooler with riser and tap.
- Two products, or one product with a spare keg cooling: a double keg cooler or a two-door under-bar unit such as the Tefcold CKC6 (267 litres).
- Three or more products under the bar: the Tefcold CKC8 (359 litres) or the Blizzard triple keg cooler.
- Back-of-house storage for many kegs: a large two-door keg cooler such as the Serrco SKB range, from 584 litres up to 1,825 litres.
Keep a spare keg of your best seller cooling so that a keg change does not mean pouring warm beer. A keg loaded warm can take many hours to come down to temperature, so plan deliveries and rotation around that.
How much does a keg cooler cost to buy and run?
At Caterzone, prices for keg coolers currently run as follows (inc VAT):
- Blizzard single keg cooler with riser and tap: £1,323
- Tefcold CKC4 keg cooler, 189 litres, solid door: £1,476
- Tefcold CKC6 keg cooler, 267 litres, two doors: £1,753.20
- Blizzard double keg cooler with riser and two taps: £2,006
- Tefcold CKC8 keg cooler, 359 litres, two doors: £2,071.20
- Blizzard triple keg cooler with two risers: £2,788
- Serrco SKB-6 two-door keg cooler, 1,190 litres: £3,352.80
- Serrco KSC-720E keg storage cooler, 424 litres: £3,751.20
Running cost depends on the cabinet's declared energy use, the room temperature, how often doors are opened, and how many warm kegs go in. To estimate it, take the daily kWh figure on the product's specification sheet, multiply by 365, and multiply by your electricity unit rate. A cabinet using 3kWh a day at 25p per kWh costs about £270 a year to run, for example. Under-bar units sit in a warm bar, so good ventilation around the condenser makes a real difference to both running cost and lifespan.
Do not forget the cost of the dispense side: couplers, gas, regulators, lines, and line cleaning. If you are fitting a keg cooler to existing fonts, budget for a technician to connect and balance the system.
What should you look for when buying a keg cooler?
- Internal dimensions: height with coupler fitted, and floor space for your keg diameter.
- Load-bearing floor: a full 50 litre keg weighs over 50kg, so the base must be rated for it and kegs should be easy to slide in.
- Temperature range: +2°C to +10°C covers most keg storage needs.
- Climate class: a bar can get warm in summer and behind a busy counter; check the cabinet is rated for the room.
- Condenser position: Serrco machine-unit models come with the machine on the left or right, which helps fit them into a run of back-bar units.
- Line entry points: make sure there is a route for beer and gas lines to the font.
- Lockable doors: useful in a bar where stock control matters.
- Refrigerant: modern units use natural refrigerants such as R290 or R600a, which have a much lower global warming impact than older gases.
What UK rules apply to keg coolers and beer dispense?
Keg coolers are electrical equipment, so they fall under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. Most operators PAT test plug-in units as part of their routine, and any work on the refrigeration circuit should be done by an F-gas certified engineer where fluorinated gases are involved.
Beer dispense systems use CO2 or mixed gas under pressure. Gas cylinders must be stored upright and secured, and the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 apply to dispense gas systems. Where gas is used in a confined space such as a cellar or enclosed bar back, the risk of CO2 build-up should be assessed, and many operators fit a gas detector. Your gas supplier and dispense technician can advise on what your site needs.
From a food safety point of view, beer lines and taps are food contact surfaces. Your food safety management system should cover line cleaning frequency and records, and your local authority environmental health officer may check them. Premises selling alcohol also need the right licences under the Licensing Act 2003 in England and Wales, or the equivalent law in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a keg cooler and a bottle cooler?
A keg cooler is built to hold heavy kegs on a reinforced floor, often with space for couplers and line entry, while a bottle cooler has shelves for bottles and cans behind a glass or solid door. You cannot reliably store full kegs in a standard bottle cooler.
What temperature should a keg cooler be set to?
Most keg coolers run between +2°C and +10°C, and the exact setting depends on the product. Lager and many keg products are commonly stored at the cooler end; always follow the brewer's or supplier's recommended temperatures.
Can you keep cask ale in a keg cooler?
Generally no. Cask ale needs to condition and settle at a stable cellar temperature of around 11°C to 13°C, and it is usually served by hand pull or gravity from a cellar. Keg coolers are designed for keg products.
How often should beer lines be cleaned?
Brewers and industry bodies generally recommend cleaning beer lines at least every seven days. An automated line cleaning machine can help busy sites keep to a routine, and line cleaning should be recorded as part of your food safety checks.
How many kegs fit in an under-bar keg cooler?
It depends on the cabinet and the keg size. Single and double keg coolers with taps hold one or two kegs, a Tefcold CKC8 at 359 litres is designed for several, and large two-door units such as the Serrco SKB range hold many more. Always check internal dimensions against your supplier's keg sizes.
Where to buy keg coolers in the UK
Caterzone stocks keg coolers from Blizzard, Tefcold, and Serrco by Tefcold, with options from plug-in single-tap units to large back-of-house cabinets. Browse the commercial refrigeration collection, or go straight to the Blizzard single keg cooler with riser and tap at £1,323, the Blizzard double keg cooler with two taps at £2,006, or the Blizzard triple keg cooler at £2,788. For under-bar storage feeding existing fonts, see the Tefcold CKC4 189 litre at £1,476, the Tefcold CKC6 267 litre at £1,753.20, and the Tefcold CKC8 359 litre at £2,071.20. For larger stores, the Serrco SKB-6 1,190 litre two-door keg cooler is £3,352.80, and the Serrco KSC-720E keg storage cooler is £3,751.20. To help keep lines clean, we also have a refurbished Beer Piper automated line cleaning machine at £1,200.
Fitting out the rest of the bar? Read our bottle cooler and back bar fridge guide and our glasswasher guide for bars and pubs. For help choosing a keg cooler for your kegs and space, call Caterzone on +44 7787 069044 or email info@thecaterzone.co.uk.
