Keg parties are awesome. Although we are partial to a keg planted in a parking lot outside of a stadium during football season, drinking keg beer doesn’t get any better. You know what does suck? Warm beer out of a keg. That’s why in order to have a fun keg party you had to not only get the keg but figure out a way to keep it ice cold just like the moment the guy at the liquor store wheeled it out from the back cooler and loaded it into your tailgating vehicle.
Keeping a keg ice cold involved a plastic tub or a (hopefully clean) trash can and copious amounts of ice to keep it cold. Of course the added expense of the tub and ice was factored into the price of getting a keg but the mess was not. The ice normally melts and has to be disposed of somewhere and the condensation on the outside of the tub or trashcan leaks all over. This is not that big of a deal when you are out tailgating but house parties or backyard parties where the keg is parked on a wooden deck, that water can leave some nasty stains and rings.
There has to be a better way of keeping your keg ice cold for long periods of time without having to resort to the old way of a tub and ice. We recently discovered the Kegster made by X-Treme Keg Wear. Simply put, the Kegster is the first and only, full-branded keg insulating device that keeps beer cold until the kegs run dry.
As you can see in the photos, the Kegster is a high-tech wrap that covers your keg from all sides keeping the cold in and repelling the heat. The main wrap goes all the way around the circumference of the keg and attaches with three heavy duty clips to ensure a snug fit. You place the bottom insulating disc underneath the keg and the top piece goes on the top that has a center hole where you will tap your keg. The whole keg is covered by the Kegster and now, depending on the conditions the keg is placed in, can keep the keg ice cold for four to six hours.
We were a bit skeptical at first of the claim that simply “putting a huge can koozie” on a keg would keep it cold for four to six hours. Like we always do here at Tailgating Ideas, we asked them to prove it to us and requested a sample. Not only did the guys at X-Treme Keg Wear provide us with a sample, they even made us our own custom branded Tailgating Ideas themed Kegster.
As you can see in the photo, we personally tested the Kegster to see if the claim it could keep a keg cold even under the most extreme conditions was true. Cut to the chase, we did test it highly extreme conditions and it passed with flying colors.
I am the commissioner of my fantasy football league and this year decided to host the draft poolside at the BBQ area down by the main pool of the apartment complex where I live. The weather in Orange County over Labor Day Weekend was hot and unseasonably humid. Temperatures hovered around 95 degrees all day. Our draft started at 11 am and by the time the guys arrived, the air temperature was already in the 90’s.
…After sitting in 95 degree heat for four and a half hours without any ice and only the Kegster wrap to protect it from the elements, the keg beer was still ice cold…
I picked up the keg at about 10:30 am and as soon as the guy brought it out of the cooler, I placed my Tailgating Ideas Kegster on it. The keg was not getting warm while sitting in the checkout lane while I was paying for it, dropping the keg shell deposit and filling out the necessary forms you need to fill out when buying a keg. The manager and all the employees remarked about how cool this wrap was and how it probably saved me a lot of money on ice and having to get a tub. The keg was loaded into my vehicle and I was off to return to the fantasy football draft location.
We tapped the keg right at 11 am and the guys all were admiring the look and design of Kegster. However, many were commenting they doubted it would keep the beer cold without ice. One guy even said, “That keg will be warm before the first kicker is drafted.”. I had no basis to refute that claim so I had to just let the day play out and keep an eye on the clock.
The fantasy football draft lasted until about 5 pm and it was around 3:30 pm that I noticed a slight change in temperature in the draft beer. I did not put my digital thermometer in my party cup but I could tell the beer was starting to get warmer than had I taken a can or bottle out of the ice chest. After sitting in 95 degree heat for four and a half hours without any ice and only the Kegster wrap to protect it from the elements, the keg beer was still ice cold. If the draft was held in 72 degree heat I am confident the beer would have stayed colder for much longer and would have approached the six hour threshold the manufacturers claimed.
Based on our own test in extreme conditions we are going to give the Kegster the Tailgating Ideas “Tailgate Approved” label. Not only does it keep the beer cold without any ice, depending on the theme wrap you choose, the Kegster dresses up the keg at your tailgate party. No longer is the keg an eye sore sitting in a trashcan but rather a conversation piece and could be the center of attention.
If you want to know the science and technology that goes into the Kegster performing the way it does, you can read all that science stuff on the Kegster product page. The real meat and potatoes is that the Kegster comes in a variety of wraps ranging from American patriotic themes to collegiate pride themes.
The first gallery further up the page showcases a small sampling of the “collegiate themed” kegsters that show off to everyone what team and school you support. The reason why we place collegiate themed in quotation marks is because these kegsters are not officially licensed by the universities and do not use any trademarked or copyrighted logos. However, anyone with a brain in their head can clearly tell by the colors used and the slogans included which schools they are to represent. More schools are being added so keep an eye out for those announcements coming in the future.
Now that you have read that it works even in extreme heat conditions, you are probably wondering how much one costs. The price for a Kegster no matter what theme you choose is less than $80. Consider the amount of money you spend on ice and buying or renting a tub to keep the keg and ice in into your decision making when mulling over if you want to buy it. The liquor store I purchased my keg from offered to rent me a tub for $20 additional on top of charging $7 per five pound bag of ice. With a tub rental and about five bags of ice considered, the money you save using the Kegster you only have to use it twice and it pays for itself.
After testing the Kegster for ourselves in such extreme conditions, we just had to add the Kegster to our line of products we offer in our online tailgating gear store. To see the full line of collegiate themed Kegsters with more planned to be added, click HERE. To see the full line of American and patriotic themed Kegsters, click HERE.