How versatile can an undercounter bottle cooler be?

March 19, 2008 11:08 AM

BarFilter: Would it be feasible to refrigerate 15 different types of bottled beverages using an undercounter bottle cooler like this?

A friend is expanding his bar and wants to get rid of his display coolers in exchange for an underbar cooler. I've heard you can really only store cases in the underbar variety, but he wants to know if there's a way to store between 10-15 different bottled drinks and still have them easily accessible. Any bartenders out there with experience with this kind of cooler?

posted by (bb|[^b]{2}) to food & drink (9 comments total)

We use that at my bar and we usually have 15 bottles of wine and perhaps 6 bottles of different schnapps and other liqours in there. It seems to be fine. In fact, we also keep milk, extra lemons and such in there so its better than the display type cause you can keep it a little more utilitartian and messy.

One tip is to build little risers in the back (or even stepped risers all the way) so its easier to get all the way to the back.
posted by stormygrey at 11:32 AM on March 19, 2008

Thanks stormygrey! I should've been more explicit with the bottle details, since he's looking to store 15 types of beers, but each beer will need to have 12 to 15 bottles of each stocked within. That seems like it would be a little more difficult that stocking larger items like liquor bottles and milk. Do you store any beer in there too?
posted by (bb|[^b]{2}) at 11:57 AM on March 19, 2008

We keep all the beer in the big uprights for the most part. There is no reason you couldn't do underbar beer storage. I would try to still get front doors rather than top drawers so you could get to the beer easier. Although, if you made the risers right, you could probably get lots of beer in the regular underbar coolers.
posted by stormygrey at 12:01 PM on March 19, 2008

We used these in the bar I tended at for 3 years. We stacked the bottles on their side.

You can often get used ones at auction, but the used ones are not very reliable in terms of stable temperature. They can have bad thermostats and they often freeze your beer or let it get too warm. Also, since the doors are s large, they let large amounts of cold air escape every time you open the door. For these reasons, you should buy a new one with warranty.

One thing you may have problems with is condensation collecting at the bottom (or beer from broken bottles). Make sure it has a drain or that you are wiling to empty it for cleaning.
posted by mds35 at 12:11 PM on March 19, 2008

The bar I haunt uses underbar coolers to hold about a dozen different kinds of beer. He keeps the bottles in the sixpack cartons and stacks them on top of each other 2-deep. Then you just slide or lift the top carton if you need to get to something underneath. I am not a bartender, but I've done emergency duty for him a couple of times, and its an easy enough system for me. If you keep the beer in the same general area from week-to-week, it's very simple to pull the correct beer based on a combination of location, cap, and colors.
posted by weebil at 12:21 PM on March 19, 2008

Yeah, when I bartended we had one of these. It was divided up into sections left to right with the beers stacked on their sides. You may have to double up on a row or two, but it'll hold 15 varieties just fine.
posted by wfrgms at 12:50 PM on March 19, 2008

If you have space left over, those things work reasonably well for frosting pints/mugs.
posted by baphomet at 12:58 PM on March 19, 2008

We have one of these at the bar I work in and you could easily store 15 different types of beer in that. I would recommend keeping the bottles in the six pack holders and stacking them on top of one another. Why has your friend decided to get rid of the display coolers and opt for one of these? I actually prefer the display ones as opposed to this kind.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 4:29 PM on March 19, 2008

Apparently there's a lot of wasted room in the display cooler, and he's trying to streamline everything as much as possible at his new place.
posted by (bb|[^b]{2}) at 3:11 PM on March 20, 2008