If you rely on your standard kitchen fridge to hold both your drinks and food but find yourself running short on space, you may want to consider a beverage cooler. A beverage cooler is designed to hold only soda and beer with some models allowing enough space for wine bottles.
Beverage coolers work well in recreation rooms, basements, garages, and bar areas helping to provide extra storage that can come in handy when you want your favorite cocktail. Here is our buyer s guide to provide you with tips on what to look for in the best beverage cooler and a few reviews to help you start shopping.
1. Homelabs Beverage Cooler – Coldest Cooler
Unlike its competitors, the EdgeStar Beverage Cooler can reach a temperature as low as 34º F to keep your beverages as cool as possible. Without freezing your drinks, the EdgeStar features a very powerful cooling system that is a compressor based allowing it to reach temperatures others can’t.
There is a range of adjustable shelves that allow you to store tall bottles as well as cans. The EdgeStar also has an extra-large capacity that can hold 120 standard 12 oz. cans, so you can store all your favorite beverages easily.
Pros:
- Great product and will get colder than its competitors
- Nice looking and affordable
- Perfect size and has great sleek styling
Cons:
- The only way to turn it off is to unplug it
- Can get your beverages too cold if you aren’t careful
2. Kalamera Beverage Cooler – Most Versatile Cooler
Versatile to use in any room of the home, the Kalamera Beverage Cooler can easily be installed under your kitchen counter or in the bar area of your recreation room or basement. This unit has a very quiet compressor that can maintain a consistent temperature for longer periods without having to stop and start. It also features a sophisticated all-stainless steel design with a double-layer door made of transparent glass.
With a small footprint, this unit will work in any size home, plus it can provide additional storage space by allowing you to fit all your canned beverages inside. With removable racks, you can easily fill your cooler or make enough room to fit a case of soda or beer. The Kalamera has a sleek stainless steel design that will both function and elegance in your home.
Pros:
- Great price for the style of fridge
- Fits under the counter perfectly
- Works well and looks great
Cons:
- A little on the loud side
- Temperature isn’t very consistent
3. Phiestina PH-CBR100 Beverage Cooler – The most Energy-Efficient Cooler
It’s a fact of life that when beverages are chilled they taste better. With the Philistine PH-CBR100 Beverage Cooler Refrigerator, you can fit 106 standard cans nice and cold. With its versatile design, you can also use the fridge for food and place it anywhere in your house. This is a fridge that is packed with features and has a super quiet compressor, so you can use it in any room.
With adjustable temperature settings, you can choose to have your drinks frosty or just a little cold. The temperature settings can range from 38 to 50 degrees F. Removable shelves also give you versatility in providing space for tall bottles as well as cans. Plus, the compressor cooling is energy efficient as well as quiet.
The interior blue LED lighting is also energy-efficient and long-lasting while providing style to your fridge and making it easier to find your drinks. The digital controls allow you to quickly set the temperature and check it on the LCD screen with just a glance. This is the ultimate storage solution that has adjustable legs so it can be used as a free-standing fridge in any room.
Pros:
- The perfect size works well in a pool house and basement
- Keeps beverages at the perfect temperature
- Looks great and is quiet
Cons:
- A little on the small side
- Condensation can build up and leave a puddle
4. Whynter BR-091WS Beverage Refrigerator – Best Cooler for a Retail Space
With a compact and powerful design, the Whynter Beverage Refrigerator is a great solution for retail merchandising needs or home entertainment. This is an affordable storage solution that offers high-end features in a sleek setting that can be the highlight of any space. Featuring an internal air-cooled system with a powerful compressor, the Whynter BR-091WS provides an evenly-cooled space that guarantees an even temperature throughout the fridge.
A recessed handle gives the fridge a flush finish with the door, and it also comes equipped with three wire shelves that slide out. The mechanical temperature control lets you adjust the temperature range from 30º – 60º F while an internal fan forces circulation to make sure there is an even temperature distribution throughout the fridge.
Pros:
- Quiet and attractive small fridge
- Very good quality with a reversible door
- Has a clear door so you can see what is inside
Cons:
- The door tends to fog up
- Doesn’t have an automatic light
5. Whynter BR-130SB Beverage Refrigerator – Most Attractive Cooler
When you want an efficient and compact way to refrigerate and display your beverages, the Whynter BR-130SB is a great solution. This is a great unit to use in a retail space or even at home for entertaining that includes a glass door trimmed in stainless steel making it a nice addition to any room’s décor. With high-quality features, the Whynter BR-130SB provides a sleek display for your beverages that will be an attractive showpiece.
The Whynter BR-130SB features a strong but quiet compressor in the internal air-cooled system that will give you an even temperature through the fridge. You also get versatility with five wire shelves that slide out and a soft LED interior light that allows you to easily see the fridge’s content while keeping a consistent internal temperature.
Pros:
- Nice look and cold fridge
- Quick to start up and runs very quietly
- Chills your beer
Cons:
- Condensation will build up and freeze
- Can tell a difference in temperature between beverages on the top shelf to those on the bottom shelf
Best Beverage Coolers: Buyer’s Guide
Keeping your beverages chilled and organized requires finding a beverage cooler that not only can keep a consistent temperature but will work with your house setup. There are several different types of coolers on the market, so you need to decide what type works best in your home and what features you are looking for.
Some coolers can chill bottles and cans of all sizes allowing you to chill both wine and beer. Others come with adjustable legs and are super quiet so they can be used as freestanding units in any room you desire.
If your cooler will be located in your bar area, this is a great opportunity to keep your bar stocked. Instead of the current way you store your beverages, mixers, and home bar accessories, you have a new way to keep your home bar stocked and organized. You might just be sticking everything into your beer fridge or shoving things into your kitchen refrigerator.
Keeping everything within easy reach while you can chill some cans of your favorite beer is a great feature. Keep in mind that there are tons of options available on the market today, so you will have to take a little time to make sure you make the right choice for you.
Benefits of a Beverage Cooler
Setup can be the exact way that you want it. Some models will include shelving that is adjustable so you can store bottles, cans, and containers of different sizes. This will allow you to keep everything you need to create the ideal cocktail in just one place while still keeping other beverages cold.
This is also an easier way to store beverages. Storing several types of beverages together makes you set the temperature at the warmest setting that is needed for specific items in the fridge. When you have a separate cooler for those specific items, you can have some temperature variety to keep the items you want cold nice and chilly.
Stylish security is also another benefit of a separate beverage cooler. In some cases, it is necessary to lock up certain beverages, and having a cooler with a locking mechanism will give you all the security that you need while still providing easy access to your favorite drinks.
How to choose a beverage cooler
When choosing a beverage cooler, your first step should always be checking online reviews and reading these types of buying guides. You need to consider where you will place the cooler and how it works with your current home bar setup. Also, the beverage cooler is a great addition to the cigar cooler humidor.
Purchasing a fridge that is too heavy and too large for the space you want to install it will either cost you a lot of wasted time in needing to return it or you will have extra time and cost wasted in reconfiguring the setup. A little preplanning can help you avoid either situation.
Beverage Cooler Features
Size
As part of the initial preplanning activities, size should be one of your main considerations. You need to think about how many events you will have in your home and how many beverages will be served at them. Keep in mind that some of the best beverage coolers will be able to stock over 150 cans or bottles, so make sure that will be able to satisfy the needs of everyone at your parties.
However, if your parties run smaller and will only include some family members or a few close friends then a typical unit would be a more affordable choice. You will be able to find quite a few cooler options in this price range and some will even have a few features like reversible doors or doors that have huge windows on the doors.
Anti-Frost
The anti-frost option will be less seen in affordable and smaller-sized units. For those people that are in and out of their coolers a lot, you will notice that frost can tend to build up. Frost can potentially ruin items that you might be storing, so a cooler with an anti-frost option will help you keep the integrity of your refrigerated environment intact.
Removable Racks
Another handy feature is removable racks. When you have the versatility of removable racks, you aren’t limiting your space but increasing your cooler’s flexibility to accommodate larger items like wine bottles and 2-liter bottles of soda.
Automatic Lighting
If you have a larger cooler, automatic lighting can be a handy feature. Smaller units may not require illumination as everything should be easily within your reach, but a larger unit may have annoying shadows that make seeing items in the back of the cooler harder to see.
Temperature
Believe it or not, different people have different preferences as far as temperature. And when you are searching for your new beverage cooler, you want to make sure that it will accommodate your preferred temperature setting. There’s no point in investing in this type of appliance unless you are happy with every drink you take out of it.
Depending on if you like your drinks at just over the freezing point or if you prefer them just under room temperature, you may want to consider getting a beverage cooler with a temperature gauge that will remember your favorite setting. Having an adjustable thermometer that is easy to use is always a good feature, but if you will be changing out the types of drinks in your cooler a lot, having a programmable thermometer is a good addition to help keep track of their different temperature needs.
Durability
Not well-known for their durability, beverage coolers can be hit or miss depending on the model with some brands using lower quality control standards. That’s why you want to make sure that you do your research and find one that has been able to last several years instead of gambling on an unknown product that you might have to replace in a few months. When doing your research, you want to look for a beverage cooler that is dependable, durable, and has a compressor with consistent cooling results.
Other things to look for in a durable appliance are more metal than plastic pieces including hinges, shelves, and handles so you know it will be able to stand up to daily use. Also, look for interior lights that are LED lights instead of fluorescent and incandescent bulbs that won’t last as long.
The compressor is probably the most important feature when considering durability. This is the one area where you will have the most problems if they are going to happen, so to lessen the possibility of a problem, do your research and see which models have given other people problems.
Another trick you can do is to leave your beverage cooler standing upright for several hours before you plug it in to let all the cooling fluids go back to their correct pressure after going through a shipping process which can make a huge difference in how long the compressor will last and how smooth it will work.
Additional warranty coverage is also a good purchase since even the best fridges can have some problems. Even though you may find an extended warranty unnecessary for other appliances, a beverage cooler can be the one case where you will use it. Also, look for longer manufacturer warranties than just one year which isn’t very long for a purchase of $200.
Energy efficiency
No one wants to see a large electric bill each month, so you want to avoid a beverage cooler that will run your account up. Keep in mind that approximately 8% of the average electric bill can be attributed to a refrigerator. And it makes sense that the larger the refrigerator, the more energy it consumes, especially if you don’t keep it full and waste more energy to cool space.
Ease of Use
Convenience is another large consideration. Coolers with reversible doors not only give you extra flexibility but also help when reconfiguring the space where your cooler will be placed allowing you to change the direction the door moves to accommodate placement. Shelves should also be easy to move and adjust for taller items, and they should also be easy to clean and come with a warning sound to let you know the door has been open too long. Flexibility is always a great feature to look for in any appliance.
Price
There are a ton of options for this type of appliance giving you a lot of flexibility in what features you want in your beverage cooler and a chance to shop around at different price points. There are really good beverage coolers no matter what your budget is since there are coolers that run around $100 for compact sizes and over $1,000 for retail spaces that want a commercial beverage cooler that is more of a full-size unit that includes several compartments with a couple of cooling systems.
Countertop beverage coolers will be your most inexpensive option running between $100 and $250. Be careful in this price range, as you may find that some of the models under $200 tend to be unreliable. Also, do your research and see which of these units are durable and will last a while as there is no way saving a few dollars now will help when you have to spend another $200 to replace your beverage cooler in a few months.
The more high-end beverage coolers will include accurate digital temperature controls and use doors with double-layered glass doors and other insulators to keep all the cold air inside the unit. These coolers are more energy efficient and will also have the largest range of temperatures to choose from, plus they will also have storage space. Higher-end models will also have a nicer finish, and fit, and use more metal parts, and it is even possible to get one with independent storage areas that each have its temperature control.
Conclusion for Best Beverage Coolers
Beverage coolers are not just handy storage options to have in your home, but they also make a great gift for someone that tends to like having a wide range of drinks in their house. Remember that the best beverage coolers will not only be convenient but keep you from constantly running to the kitchen to get another drink. They are also great for parties so everyone has easy access to their favorite drinks and they are ideal for those living in a dorm room or a studio apartment.
Beverage coolers are a great addition to any household that likes to entertain or has issues with refrigerator space. Not only can you keep your favorite beverages at the perfect temperature, but you can also use these little space-saving buddies to store extra goodies. Once you decide how you will be using your beverage cooler, it won’t be hard to find one that meets your needs and your budget.
Related Articles
