PatrickBuild an Outdoor Draft Beer Bar
Updated: Nov 16
We turned our "indoor" kegerator into an outdoor draft beer bar!
At our brewing project, Danger Shed Ales & Mead, we have a standard kegerator that can hold three corney kegs with three taps on the front. The kegerator sits in the brew shed but we wanted to be able to serve beer to people outside (easier to spread out, thanks COVID 19). We decided to leave the kegerator where it is in the shed and add three new draft lines that would be dedicated to the outside taps. Here's how we did it!
Step-By-Step:
PLACEMENT
First, we had to decide where we wanted the taps and the bar. In our case, the long side of the shed had enough room for the taps, bar, and space for people to stand.
On the inside of the shed, we have our kegerator in the corner near where the shanks will go through the wall.
PUTTING IN THE SHANKS
The thin sheet metal wall of the shed couldn't hold the shanks in place on its own, so we built a nice backboard with three shank holes for the outside, and drilled matching holes in a simple board for the inside. We ran the shanks through the inside board, then through the wall, then through the outside backboard and used the shank nuts to squeeze everything together in a nice sturdy hold.
RUNNING THE DRAFT LINES
We drilled three holes in the back side of the kegerator collar and ran the new draft lines out to the shanks.
The draft lines are only a few feet long but we added some simple insulation. The picture below shows how the shanks are secured through the inside board, through the wall, and then out to the backboard.
SETTING UP THE TAPS
After the draft lines were run, the taps were secured to the shanks and a drip tray added to the backboard.
ADDING A TOUCHSCREEN STATION & TAP LIST SCREEN
Keg Punk for Raspberry Pi has been deprecated in favor of Keg Punk for Windows (coming soon)
Last we added a Keg Punk Taproom Station and tap list screen. We mounted the touchscreen right next to the taps for easy access for whoever was bartending and the tap list screen close by so people at the bar could see what we were pouring. This is a pretty cool upgrade for any draft bar or kegerator.
Keg Punk is a great tool for any brewer - Home or Pro.
AVAILABLE NOW!
Keg Punk is a great tool for any brewer - Home or Pro.
AVAILABLE NOW!
