Bar Refrigeration Guide: Back Bar Coolers, Kegerators and Wine Coolers

Map the bar before choosing the boxes

Bar refrigeration lives in the tightest, warmest space in most restaurants: under a counter, behind a bartender, beside an ice bin and a glass washer. Getting it right starts with a drawing of the bar, not a product page.

Bartenders work from their station. A unit that holds the right product within one step of the well saves more time than a larger unit at the far end of the bar.

• What is poured: bottled beer, draft, wine by the glass, mixers, garnishes, dairy for coffee.
• Where each bartender stands and what they reach for most.
• The clear height under the bar top and the depth from the front of the counter to the wall.
• The aisle width behind the bar, which decides whether doors can swing.
• Where power, drains and beer lines will run.

Back bar coolers

Back bar coolers are low, wide refrigerators built to sit under the back counter, holding bottled beer, wine, mixers and garnish backups. They are sold in several heights and depths to fit different bar tops, in one, two, three or more sections.

Check whether shelves are adjustable and sized for the bottles you stock, and whether the unit is meant for cases or loose bottles. Tall wine bottles and some large-format cans need more shelf height than a standard beer bottle.

• Solid doors hold temperature best and hide stock; glass doors let staff and customers see labels and cut door-open time.
• Swing doors seal well but need aisle room to open; sliding doors suit narrow aisles, though a slider opens only part of the unit at a time.
• Stainless steel suits a working bar; black and other finishes suit a bar the guests look at.
• Front-breathing designs take in and exhaust condenser air through the front grille, and they are the ones to use when the unit is built in under a counter.

Bottle coolers and underbar coolers

Bottle coolers are top-loading chests with sliding or hinged lids. Bottles stand or lie in deep bins and are pulled from above, and because cold air sinks, much of it stays in the chest when a lid lifts. They hold a lot of bottles in a small footprint and suit high-volume beer service.

The trade-off is reach. The bottom of a deep bin is hard to get to, stock rotation takes discipline, and the lid cannot double as a work surface while it is opened constantly. Many bars pair a bottle cooler for the fast sellers with a back bar cooler for everything else.

Underbar coolers, often listed simply as bar coolers, fit the service side of the bar near the well. They are usually narrower and shallower than back bar units and keep mixers, juices, garnishes and dairy within reach of the bartender.

Beer dispensers and kegerators

A beer dispenser, often called a kegerator, is a refrigerated cabinet that holds kegs under a tower of taps. This is direct draw: the kegs sit right under the faucets and the lines are short, so the cabinet keeps the beer cold all the way to the tap.

Beer that warms anywhere between the keg and the glass foams at the tap. Keep the keg, lines and tower cold end to end, and set the gas pressure for the beer and the system rather than by guesswork.

When kegs live in a walk-in cooler away from the bar, the system becomes long draw, with lines bundled in an insulated trunk line, usually chilled by a glycol power pack on longer runs. That is a design and installation job for a draft beer specialist, not a cabinet purchase. Either way, draft lines need regular cleaning; many brewers recommend about every two weeks, so follow your breweries' and the system maker's guidance.

• Keg sizes and couplers: domestic and imported beers ship in several keg sizes and use different coupler types, so confirm what your breweries or distributors supply before choosing a cabinet.
• Tap count: count the beers you want on at once, then check the cabinet actually holds that many kegs of the sizes you buy.
• Gas: most beers dispense on carbon dioxide, while nitro stouts use a nitrogen blend and a stout faucet, so the regulator and gas setup have to match.
• Tower: an air-cooled tower carries cold air from the cabinet up to the faucets; a warm tower pours foam.

Glass and plate chillers

Glass chillers and frosters keep glassware cold so drinks stay colder longer, and plate chillers keep salad and dessert plates cold for plating. Most are top-opening or reach-in cabinets that fit under or behind the bar.

They chill empty glassware and plates; they are not food storage. Some bars frost mugs heavily while others only chill them, since frost can melt into the drink. Capacity depends on glass size, so count your tallest glasses when comparing models.

Wine coolers

Wine coolers hold wine at serving or cellar temperature, and many add humidity or vibration control that a general-purpose refrigerator does not offer. For a restaurant, the choice comes down to how many bottles, which styles and whether guests see the cooler.

Service temperature and long-term storage are different jobs. A cooler set up to pour by the glass is not necessarily the right place to age a cellar, so decide which one the unit is for before comparing models.

• Single-zone units hold one temperature, which suits a list of mostly one style or long-term storage.
• Dual-zone and multi-zone units hold two or more temperatures, so whites and sparkling can be served colder than reds.
• On glass-door units, look for UV-filtering glass, since light can damage wine over time.
• Built-in units need front breathing, like any refrigeration under a counter.
• Check shelf spacing against the bottles you pour; sparkling and Burgundy-style bottles are wider than slim Bordeaux-style bottles.

Heat, noise and cleaning behind the bar

Several refrigeration units, an ice machine and a glass washer under one counter can turn the underbar into an oven. Every self-contained unit pushes heat out of its condenser, and if that heat has nowhere to go, the units work harder and hold temperature less well.

If the bar is open to the dining room, compressor noise matters too. Ask about sound levels, or consider remote refrigeration on a large new build.

• Keep front grilles clear of stored bottles, bags and bar mats.
• Clean condensers on the manual's schedule; lint from bar towels and dust build up quickly behind a bar.
• Wipe spills from cabinet floors and bottle wells before sugar and beer dry into the drain lines.
• Check door gaskets, especially on sliding doors, which wear with constant use.
• Keep drip trays, drains and faucets clean on beer dispensers.

Before you order

Measure the clear height under the bar top, the counter depth, the aisle behind the bar and the delivery path, and confirm voltage, plug type and door type. Special-order and freight equipment is not returnable once it has been delivered in good condition, so those checks are worth doing twice.

Refrigeration ships by freight carrier, and a liftgate, a delivery appointment or inside delivery needs to be arranged with Norpex before paying. Inspect each unit before signing and note any damage on the delivery receipt. For a full bar fit-out, send the equipment list through the project quote form and Norpex prices the whole list with freight included.

Common questions