Can a Wine Fridge be used for Beer?
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Can a Wine Fridge be used for Beer?

David J Sharp
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In this article, we’re going to be discussing whether a wine fridge can be used to store beer, and what the ideal temperature is for storing specific types of beer.

With that being said, before we talk about this, let’s briefly talk about the functions of a wine cooler, and what the temperature limitations are.

Wine Cooler Functions

It is no secret that wine coolers are wonderful tools for storing and displaying your wine collection, whether you have it in a bar setting, commercial environment or wine cellar.

Depending on the type of wine cooler used, red wines can typically be kept at 50°F to 64°F, white wines can be kept at 40°F to 50°F, and champagne can be stored at 40°F to 45°F for the optimum chill.

A dual zone wine cooler is perfect for allowing temperature cooling settings to be controlled independently for red and white wine in each area, so you can keep them both in the fridge together.

However, for those who have a single zone wine cooler, the best option is to chill red wine and white wine at the same time, but this means that you’ll need to settle for a midrange temperature, such as 55°F.

Additionally to its use as a means of preserving and chilling wine, the wine cooler is also seen as a decoration, displaying your collection of fine wines. Most wine coolers have glass doors for this reason.

Can you put beer in wine fridge?

Yes, absolutely! It is certainly possible to store beer in your wine refrigerator.

However, it will depend on the type of wine fridge that you have, with a thermoelectric wine cooler having a more limited temperature range than a compressor wine cooler… Therefore, you’ll need to check your specific wine cooler‘s capability.

With that being said, wine and beer certainly have one similarity, which is that there are many different types of both, and they each have differing storage temperature requirements.

For example, bottled, cellared, canned and corked beers have different temperature requirements, which we’ve shown below:

  • Light beers (low-calorie beers, lagers, pilsners, and wheat beers) should be served at a temperature between 40° and 50°F.
  • Standard ales (IPA, Stout, Amber Bock, etc.) are best served at 50° to 55°F.
  • Dark beers (Triple Ale, Dark Ale, etc.) should be served between 55°F and 60°F.

When storing multiple types of beer in a cooler, 50°F and 55°F is a good compromise as an ideal temperature range.

For those who have a single-zone wine fridge, and are looking to store multiple types of beer within that one unit, it’s recommended to set the wine cooler‘s temperature settings between 50°- 55°F.

Why would you want to store beer in your wine cooler?

Interestingly, wine coolers are designed to run consistently at higher temperatures than regular refrigerators. This means that they operate much quieter due to their smaller-sized compressors, particularly if you choose a thermoelectric cooler

Although it’s very nice to have a nice cold beer, the colder the beer, the less you’re actually going to experience the true taste. This is because your taste buds are affected by the cold temperature, making it more difficult to taste the nuances.

Therefore, by tasting beer that has been stored in a wine cooler, you’re not going to have that same issue. And whilst your beer will still be cool, it’s not going to be ice cold, but it’ll be near to the perfect serving temperature.

In fact, this is apparently why homebrewers would prefer to keep their beers in wine coolers as opposed to regular refrigerators.

Alternatives to storing beer in a wine fridge

Storing your beer in a wine cooler certainly isn’t for everyone, and neither is leaving your beer bottle collection at room temperature.

Well, there are a few alternatives here, and we’ll touch on all of them, alongside the pros and cons of each:

Regular Fridge

Everyone has one, it’s a simple kitchen fridge and it stores all of your fresh groceries, alongside being able to house your beer. However, if you’re like most people, by the time you’ve stored your food shopping in your standard refrigerator, there’s little room for anything else, including wine or beer.

We personally think the next option is more suitable for those beer lovers!

Beer Fridge

A beer fridge, also known as a beer mini fridge, is the most well-known solution for storing and refrigerating beer. It’s built with that core function in mind, and therefore, its temperature range is perfectly optimized to suit cooling your cans or beer bottles.

Beer refrigerators are also generally more affordable than wine storage fridges.

However, for those reading this, we’re more inclined to think that you already own a wine fridge for storing your wine bottle collection. And you’re simply looking to know if it can store beer as an after-thought.

Because realistically, a beer fridge is the most suitable option.

Beverage Cooler

The next option is to use a beverage refrigerator. And these too are also good alternatives to use for storing beer.

However, as we’ve just mentioned, it’s much better to purchase a beer fridge instead, because it’s specifically designed for the purpose of storing beer at its perfect temperature.

In Conclusion

We hope this article has been informative and has answered the questions as to whether a wine cooler can store beer.

Simply put, it certainly can, but it’s always preferable to use a beer fridge.

David J Sharp is a wine equipment expert, having previously worked with some of the best wine cooler manufacturers within the USA. Today he works as a full-time wine cooler and wine cellar consultant for small and large clients alike. You can find out more about LoveCraftWines here.

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