How to Build a Keezer for Your Wedding Reception

Men don’t usually care about the frills and details of a wedding. They probably do care about money. And a majority likely have an opinion on the alcohol being served. Enter: A post for men about how to save money on an open bar AND be left with an awesome addition to your Man Cave (if you have one).

Brides to be: you may want to hide this from your fiancés if this isn’t your cup of tea.

What is a Keezer? And why would I need one for my wedding?

Yes, that’s right… a Keezer. For anyone who doesn’t know what a Keezer is, it’s like a kegerator (see: college years), only it’s a deep freezer that’s converted to stay at refrigeration temperatures and holds several kegs of beer that are tapped and dispensed by these really fancy nozzles, much like those you find at the bar.

Now let me start by disclosing this was NOT in our wedding budget. My fiance took this on as his own project to save us from the alcohol expense dilemma. He paid for the materials and built this on his own with his own money as his own contribution to the wedding. Now as much as I’d like to think it was all for me to spare our outdoor wedding reception from looking like a frat party with kegs in tubs of ice, he has wanted something like this for a long time.

How much does it cost to build a Keezer?

The cost of building this was around $600-700. That included the brewing supplies for the beer he and his brother brewed themselves (they make amazing homebrew, by the way.) The price also includes the keg of cider he made, as well. In total, there are four beers on tap, and for our small wedding of 60 guests, we didn’t run out of beer and had a keg and a half left over.

Should your man be so gifted and inclined to do this, the benefit is he now has himself a Keezer. He’s happy. And you’ve saved paying for an open bar AND dodged the cash bar concept that we all wince at when we hear the words but know that on a budget, it’s sometimes the only way to go.

How to build a Keezer

My fiance got online and researched many different styles – if you google “keezer” and go to images, you’ll see a TON of them. Some of them will even have instructions on how to build it. My fiance used this website to help guide him in his quest.

Now, this project does require electrical knowledge as well as craftsmanship to build what’s called the collar. If you brew your own beer, it saves on the need to go out and buy kegs. Luckily for my man, he’s savvy in all of the above.

Step by Step Keezer Building Process

Below are the steps we took to build our own keezer.

1. Buy a freezer.

This is what it starts out looking like… a freezer. We shopped around and found a great deal on a model we found at Lowe’s on sale.

2. Paint your freezer, if desired.

To give our keezer a more polished/finished vibe, we painted ours black.

3. Build a collar.

The “collar” is basically a rectangular “top” that fits perfectly on the top of the Keezer. To use this, you’ll remove the lid of the freezer and adhere it to your collar using very strong tape or adhesive. Then, install the lid back on by connecting it to the top of this, then insulate the inside.

4. Attach Nozzles

Now somewhere in here, there’s electrical work, and then there’s the buying of the hoses and nozzles and drip tray and all that manly stuff that I don’t quite get, but I’m just sort of supplying the photos of what this beauty looks like, and your man can watch visit the website mentioned above for all the details on that electrical and tube stuff in here.

And then, ladies, you have it. A Keezer that costs less than an open bar that will supply enough beer for a smaller-sized wedding. I’m thinking 100 guests or less with just four kegs. For a larger wedding, you might want to have more kegs ready to refill. AND it’s actually really beautiful!

First, it’s NOT the eyesore of a group of kegs sitting in buckets of ice next to a tent at our wedding. Second, it’s a beautiful piece of furniture!!

And a little tidbit to add to what we did: we took CHALKBOARD PAINT (available at any home improvement store or online through Amazon) and painted the top with black chalkboard paint. Can’t tell the difference, can you? But this choice serves a purpose, because now we can write on the top of the Keezer each of the beers that’s inside. This makes it easy for everyone to know which tap is for which beer! We thought it was a fun way to add some creativity to the piece AND to be able to label your beer selections!

Would you build a keezer for your wedding?

We could have done many different things when it came to serving alcohol at our wedding. But this was certainly one of the things that, after much thought, we knew was a good choice for us. It may not be for everyone, but for any other beer-loving couples or home-brewing couples out there, this one’s for you!