Originally published in the January/February 2013 issue of Zymurgy magazine
by Scott Pointon
I’ve been brewing beer for just over four years now. When I began brewing, those with more experience told me that bottling beer was the worst, most tedious part of the hobby. I was told that someday, if I stuck with it, I would want to keg my beer.
It only took me a couple of years to heed that advice, as my more sessionable beers now go into kegs. My first kegging setup was a 5-pound CO2 tank, dual gauge regulator, two Cornelius kegs, an inexpensive non-digital Johnson temperature controller, and a chest freezer that was barely big enough to hold what I just listed.
Keezer
(definition) – a chest freezer that has been modified with a temperature control unit to become a chest refrigerator, for the sole purpose of serving kegged beer. Often has a wood- en collar inserted between the body and the lid of the freezer, thus creating an easy spot to drill holes through without fear of damaging the cooling coils in the wall of the freezer.
Not long after I got it set up, my home- brewer stepson was about to move to Florida to attend graduate school, and by default abandoned a large chest freezer he had acquired for next to nothing on Craigslist. I jumped at the chance to “adopt” his freezer (1) and make it my own new keezer. (2)
This unit served me well until recently, when it mysteriously lost the ability to hold a temperature below 60 degrees. Not good, even for my traditional English ales.
I have no doubt that the problem was some sort of freon/tubing issue, as around the same time the freezer lost its cooling abilities, a large frosty ice buildup (3) appeared on the inside rear wall of the unit. This led me to pursue my long-held desire to purchase a brand new freezer and construct a premium keezer.
Lining Things Up
I was lucky enough to have my need for a new freezer coincide with an appliance sale at my local Home Depot. I ended up with a Maytag 14.8 cubic foot unit (4) that just barely fit into the space I had. This freezer is just slightly larger than the old one on the outside, but internally there is a lot more space, as the compressor “hump” in this unit is smaller and tucked into one corner. (5)
With the freezer purchased, I began researching online regarding the construction of a keezer. One helpful resource was a video called “How to Build a Keezer” on the Northern Brewer website. Once I had a handle on the design I wanted to execute, I shopped around for the best deal on the parts needed.
Here is a list of parts (6) I purchased from Kegworks:
- 6 Perlick #525SS stainless steel faucets
- 6 black beer tap faucet handles
- 6 stainless steel shanks 1334CS – 4″ with beer shank lock nuts
- 6 stainless steel tail pieces 3/16″
- 6 rubber washers to go between tail pieces and wing nuts
- 6 stainless steel wing nuts for draft beer lines
- 12 Oetiker clamps for 3/16″ beer line
- 40 feet of 3/16″ beer line
- 6 draft beer faucet caps
- 1 faucet wrench
Constructing the Collar
I decided to build the collar of the keezer with 2×4 construction lumber. I did have a significant advantage, as I have a complete woodworking shop in my garage (building furniture is my other hobby/ mental illness). By jointing and planing the surface of these boards to be perfectly square and flat (7), I ended up with something that looks a lot better than raw 2x4s. If I didn’t have these tools at hand, I likely would have built the collar out of the best 2×4 lumber I could find and then wrapped that with 1×6 pre-planed, high grade poplar (if I was to paint it) or oak (if I wanted to stain it). Both of those options are available at any home center, but be prepared to pay for the convenience of boards that are already planed smooth!
I started with three 8-foot boards, but because I had chosen well at the home center, I was able to get the four lengths I needed from just two of the 2×4’s.
After preparing the boards, I carefully measured each dimension of the top of the freezer unit and cut the boards to the proper final length. I then sanded all surfaces of the boards with a random orbit sander, starting with 120 grit sandpaper and then progressing to 180 grit. This step can be done by hand with some sandpaper and a sanding block if you choose. By the time I was done with it, this formerly ratty construction lumber was converted into decent-looking furniture wood. (8)
Tools I used for wood prep:
- Radial arm saw
- Table saw
- Jointer
- Planer
- Power sander
Next it was time to paint the boards. I chose a high quality, glossy black spray paint. By applying many thin coats and being extra careful, I did not end up with any drips, sags, or runs (9). This was a step that took some time, but it was worth it to get a good-looking finish. With a wood like soft pine, each additional coat of paint applied evens out the sheen and the “grainy” look. Lightly sanding with very fine sandpaper between coats of paint also helps to build a beautiful finish.
When the paint had dried on the boards, it was time to drill the holes for the beer shanks in the front-facing board (10). I carefully laid out the spacing for these with a high quality combination square and a sharp pencil. I drilled the holes 4 inches on center from each other to make the taps feel less crowded together. I chose to use a Forstner bit to drill my holes (11). These bits leave a very clean edge as compared to a standard spade bit. After measuring the shanks, I went with a 7/8” bit even though this meant the shanks would be a very snug fit.
The next step was to move inside to the basement where the final assembly of the keezer would take place. I laid the boards out on the lid of the freezer to double check that everything was cut properly, (12) then carefully applied clamps to draw all of the joints tightly together. I took my time with this, fussing and tapping the joints until I had them flush and perfect. Then I drilled two counter-sunk pilot holes in each corner joint (13). This allowed me to drive the screws home without fear of cracking or splitting the wood.
I used square drive stainless steel screws for these corner connections (14). After driving all eight screws, the collar frame was now able to be lifted and moved around, but it was still not very rigid. To remedy this, I decided to install a 90-degree angle bracket in each corner (15). To insure that each corner was square (perfectly 90 degrees) before attaching angle brackets, I clamped an aluminum square into the corner with some strong spring clamps and then installed the angle brackets (16). When this was done, I used an old woodworking trick to insure it was all square. The trick is to keep tweaking it until the each of the two diagonal corner-to-corner measurements are the same as each other.
Then I headed back to the garage for some touchup painting. While this coat of paint dried overnight, I got busy taking the lid off the new freezer (17), being extra careful not to brain myself with the powerful hinges as they were released from the unit. Seriously, be careful with this part!
Once the paint was fully dry, I brought the collar back to the basement to do a test fit. At this point, depending on the manufacturer’s recommendations of your glue, you can lightly scuff up the surface you will be adhering the collar to. I was using a very powerful construction adhesive (18) and didn’t think it necessary.
To attach the collar, I laid down two ¼” thick beads of the adhesive all the way around the upper edge of the freezer where the collar would sit. Working quickly, I was able to get the adhesive applied in just a couple minutes. I only had to use one tube of the adhesive, but I had a spare on hand just in case it was needed.
While the adhesive was still wet, I quickly seated the new collar into the glue and then placed the freezer lid back into place, making sure that it was properly aligned and that the hinges could indeed fold down without issue on the back side. I then placed various heavy objects on the lid to add weight and help the adhesive lock everything together (19. This is a good idea, but remember not to overdo it—if you put so much weight on it that it squeezes out all the glue, you are in trouble!
Don’t forget to clean up the visible glue with a damp paper towel before it dries. One final piece of advice at this stage is to reattach the hinges to the freezer body (20) while the glue is still wet. If their reattachment necessitates a slight shifting of the collar, this will still be possible. I was able to attach the lower part of the hinge to the freezer body using the screws that came out of the hinge originally. The upper part of the hinge was easy to attach to the wood collar with short wood screws and washers. With this all secure, I let the construction adhesive cure for about 30 hours.
Assembling the Beer Distribution System
Next it was time to start assembling all of that fancy beer hardware. I chose to attach the faucets to the beer shanks first and then fit the shanks through the holes I drilled in the collar (21). From the inside of the freezer, I then attached the beer shank nut (22) and used a crescent wrench (23) to tighten everything up. Once the shanks were firmly connected to the collar on the inside, I tightened up the faucets using a faucet wrench (24) on the outside, making sure each faucet was straight. The next thing to tackle was the liquid lines. In my old keezer, I used picnic taps to dispense the beer. I found that the five-foot length of the picnic tap hoses did not provide enough resistance to restrain the beer from foaming, so this time I used 3/8” i.d. tubing, cut to six-foot lengths.
After soaking the end of the hoses in hot water for a couple minutes, assembling the hardware was a breeze (25). I made sure not to push the hose too far onto the fitting, as I didn’t want any issues with unscrewing the large wing nut later. The Oetiker clamps made a perfect seal. You can spend a lot of money on an Oetiker clamp tool, or just use a pair of end-cut pliers to do the same job (these can be found at any decent hardware store and are sometimes called “nippers”).
Next it was time to add a rubber gasket to the wing nut (26) and attach this whole thing to the beer shank (27). Wing nuts give you the ability to apply a lot of force, but don’t overdo it. Tight enough doesn’t require brute force in this case.
In my old setup, the CO2 tank resided inside the freezer because I didn’t have a collar through which to run the gas line if I placed it outside. That was certainly an option for me now, but the spot I was going to put the keezer would make placing a full tank into the only available exterior space cumbersome, so I chose to put the tank inside again. I was thrilled to be able to neatly run my gas distribution along the inside of the collar (28).
Once this was complete, I decided it was time to move the keezer into its final spot before adding any kegs or serious weight into the unit (29). This proved to be a trick as I was squeezing my new keezer between a vertical plumbing pipe and my furnace in the basement. It fit, but just barely!
My gas distribution scheme was based on the fact that I already owned a dual gauge regulator and a four-way gas distribution bar. With this equipment I can run my most common gas pressure from one gauge to four kegs. The other gauge is used for “special” pressures—low for an English mild or very high for a Belgian or hefeweizen. For now, I am moving that line back and forth as needed but soon will add a “Y” splitter on this line, giving me two connections for a total of six.
Even with all of the lines connected, my 20-pound CO2 tank inside, and my current beer offerings put into place, I still have room for six 5-gallon corny kegs and my 3-gallon corny on the hump in the corner (30).
For now I placed the gas tank, the five big cornies, and the one small corny keg inside.
Before running any beer through the new faucets, I mixed up a gallon of beer line cleaner and put that into another little corny keg. I hooked that up to a beer line and a gas line and ran the full gallon of cleaner through and into a pitcher. I repeated this process on all six faucets, and then repeated the same process with a gallon of warm tap water to rinse the cleaner away.
With all of that accomplished, it was time to pull the first pint! (31) Since my kegs had been sitting uncomfortably at 60 degrees in my former ailing keezer, the first pour was a little foamy. Once the new keezer came down to proper temp, the pours have been perfect.
Speaking of tempereature, I chose to reuse my old analog Johnson controller on this new keezer. (32) I have a digital controller for my fermentation freezer, but that amount of precision is overkill for simply serving beer, in my opinion.
Though I used to hang the temperature controller overhead from a wire, I decided to take advantage of my new wooden collar and attach the controller to the front face of the keezer. Along with a bottle opener, this nearly completed the project. All that was left to do at this point was to deck out the keezer with a logo magnet (go White Sox!) and a dry erase board (33) on which to write the beer descriptions.
Because the commercial offerings are insanely expensive, I am still working on a drip tray solution that doesn’t break the bank. I am playing with the idea of modifying a stainless steel “speed rail” to serve as my drip tray.
I had fun building this project and I know I will get many, many years of enjoyment from my keezer!
Scott Pointon won a silver medal in the 2012 Great American Beer Festival Pro-Am Competition. He lives in Crest Hill, Ill. For more on Pointon, see the Winners Circle on page 59.
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