Can a Wine Fridge Be Used to Store Beer? (BEST Practices!)

Unlike a normal refrigerator, a wine fridge has a lot of storage space. Sometimes, it feels too much to store only wine if you’re not a big fan of wine or want to have beers too from time to time, just like me. We know it is recommended to not store beers in a regular refrigerator.

But, can we use a wine fridge to store beers?

Here’s If You Can Store Beers in Wine Fridge:

As a general rule, you can store beer can be stored in a wine fridge to keep it chilled as well as maintain its original flavor. Beer requires a temperature of 3.25-12.75° C (37-54° F) and surprisingly, most wines in wine fridge also require 7-11° C (45-50° F) which is in the recommended temperature range for beer storage. So, you can certainly store beer in a wine fridge.

However, you need to perform some DIY hacks, change some settings & shelves to make your wine fridge not only appropriate for storing beer but also for many food items. In this article, we’ve provided best practices to properly store beer in a wine refrigerator as well as use your wine fridge for many other purposes. Read on!

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How is Wine Fridge Different Than Normal Refrigerator?

A wine fridge is a compact temperature-controlled refrigerator made exclusively for wine. They are available in a variety of sizes, shapes. Due to their size and appearance, they can fit in practically any room, unlike refrigerators. You can store it in your living room next to a sofa and always have a fresh drink while watching a movie or playing a game. They are also much quieter than a normal refrigerator because they work at such high temperatures and hence do not require a compressor to run as loudly as a normal refrigerator.

Humidity levels are maintained in a wine refrigerator to keep corks impermeable and wet. Normal refrigerators, on the other hand, are built to keep damp out, shrinking your corks and allowing surrounding aromas to seep in and overshadow your wine’s inherent flavors.

Is Wine Cooler Good for Storing Beers?

A wine fridge, despite its name, can store a lot more than wine, which is why it’s great for tiny rooms. Beer, whether cellared or canned, can be stored in your wine cooler. Wine fridges are ideal for storing beer since they maintain the ideal temperature for flavor preservation. Beer and wine, surprisingly, prefer the same temperature range of 45-55 degrees Fahrenheit. The lower temperatures of most wine fridges, on the other hand, may not be ideal for all food storage.

Perks of storing beer in wine cooler

One of the main advantages of keeping beer in a wine refrigerator rather is that some of the beer is strong and heavier beers are easier when it comes to keeping them at higher temperatures. The taste receptors on your tongue get numb when beer is excessively cold. This results in a beer that is bland or unpleasant. To bring out the full flavor of their beer, most homebrewers utilize wine coolers or customized versions of wine coolers. Furthermore, if you plan on cellaring and aging your wine, keep it for a long time, putting it in the regular refrigerator runs the danger of drying the cork.

Another benefit of using a wine cooler for your beer is that it can stand alone or be built-in to your counters or cabinets—perfect for a man cave or home bar. As a result, the wine cooler is quite adaptable, and it will undoubtedly stand out at your next party or beer tasting event.

How to Make Wine Fridge more Appropriate for Storing Beer?

If your wine cooler just has one temperature zone option and you wish to store different varieties of beer at the same time, most experts agree that keeping the temperature between 50 and 55 degrees F is the best compromise.

The optimal temperature range for different varieties of beer is as follows:

Set the wine cooler to a temperature of 40 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit for a light beer. Lager, pilsner, wheat beer, and low-calorie beer are examples of light beer.
Set the temperature of the wine cooler to between 50 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit for standard ales. Bitter Dobblebock, IPAs, Lambic, Amber Bock, and Stout are examples of standard ales.
Set the temperature of the wine cooler to between 55 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit for Strong Beer. Strong beers like Barleywine, Triple, and Dark Ale are popular.

Alternative Use of Wine Fridge

You can adjust or improve your wine fridge in a variety of ways, both do-it-yourself and custom. You can make some simple changes, such as adding wine bottle racks, bottle openers to the exterior, and, of course, décor to make them fit your environment and integrate into better. Here are some of the alternative ways to use a wine fridge –

Kegerator

You can convert a standard wine fridge into a kegerator that will serve your favorite beer or even your own craft beer on tap. This is especially useful if you host a lot of parties or gatherings. This does necessitate some DIY adjustments, and there are a variety of blueprints available online to best suit your needs.

Aging Cheese

Wine fridges are ideal for keeping cheese at the proper temperature to aid in the aging process. Unless you buy a wine freezer with humidity controls, you may need to make a few DIY changes. It might be as simple as adding a bucket of water, but it varies depending on the cheese. Before attempting to age cheese on your own, it’s critical to do your homework.

Curing Meat

You can also turn your wine fridge into handy meat curing machine. Depending on the type of meat you’re curing, you’ll need to add hooks for hanging your meats, as well as a humidifier and other items. Again, you’ll need to do a lot of studies to make sure you’re getting the meat cured correctly.

Cigar Storage

Yes, you can turn your wine cooler into a cigar storage area. Cigars and wine should not be stored together for a long time, according to Best Home Brewing Kit. Wine should be kept at 55 degrees Fahrenheit with 70 percent humidity, whereas cigars should be kept at 70 degrees Fahrenheit with 70 percent humidity.

If you only want to store your cigars, a wine cooler would suffice and will only require minimal tweaks to keep them fresh!

Conclusion

Beer and various types of food can be stored in a wine refrigerator, just make sure you don’t store food meant for the kitchen refrigerator in your wine refrigerator. It’s a recipe for disaster

Beer may be kept for a long time in a wine fridge. If you want your beer to be ice cold when you serve it, chill a few bottles or cans in the fridge the night before. Just make sure you keep the right temperature, and if you are keeping anything other than beer, like beverages or food read their instructions to check the temperature they are suitable to be kept in.