How Much do Glycol Draft Beer Systems Cost?

Cabaret Design Group

How much do glycol draft beer systems really cost? Learn the components and advantages of purchasing a glycol beer tap system for your restaurant, bar or hotel.

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF GLYCOL SYSTEMS?

The primary advantage of glycol systems is that they offer a very reliable method of delivering beer. From the walk-in cooler to the dispensing faucet, glycol draft beer systems are capable of impeccably controlling the quality of the beer over long distances. Micro Matic can design systems up to 750 feet, and their trunk lines can handle up to 20 products. Perlick can design trunk lines up to 24 products. Engineering and installation costs are much greater for larger applications.

FLEXIBILITY

Because glycol draft beer systems are capable of delivering over substantial distance, this provides other benefits to bar owners. For instance, the walk-in cooler can be placed outside the building, or in another part of your building that’s less impactful on revenue-producing space.

TOWER DESIGNS ARE LIMITED ONLY BY IMAGINATION

Glycol systems offer an infinite variety of tower designs. Everywhere you go nowadays one sees an array of beautiful towers that people are enchanted by (reference the photos below). These are just a brief example of what’s available in the market, but the sky is the limit. To facilitate the growing demand, Micro Matic has a specials department which will custom design a tower that can meet all your specifications. To summarize the benefits of glycol draft beer systems:

  • Flexibility of expansion.

  • Virtually unlimited tower design.

  • Unlimited opportunity of equipment placement.
Custom Inverted Dual Service Draft Beer Tower by Micro Matic
Custom Inverted Dual Service Draft Beer Tower by Micro Matic
Photo of Micro Matic Custom Pedestal Mounted Draft Beer Tower
Photo of Micro Matic Custom Pedestal Mounted Draft Beer Tower
Photo of Micro Matic Wall-Mounted Draft Beer Tower
Micro Matic Wall-Mounted Draft Beer Tower

A WORD ABOUT WALK-IN COOLERS

To ensure profitable draft beer, a dedicated walk-in cooler is mandatory. As I detailed in another post (reference below), don’t make the mistake of placing case beer and keg beer in the same walk-in cooler. Bar staff typically go in and out of walk-in coolers all day or all night long, which makes it impossible to maintain a steady operating temperature of 38F. Temperatures above 38F will likely lead to excess foaming and lost profits. Maintaining a priority on placing draft beer in a designated walk-in cooler will go a long way to maximizing . So, in any size of an operation you’ll see multiple walk-in coolers, for that reason. So, basically that’s it — you have a really good system that has great capacity, great engineering and great reliability, in terms of delivering the product at the right temperature — everything you need when considering a glycol system.

Typical walk-in cooler for draft beer systems
PHOTO OF DEDICATED WALK-IN COOLER FOR DRAFT BEER SYSTEM (courtesy of Cooler Concepts)

HOW MUCH DO GLYCOL DRAFT BEER SYSTEMS COST?

You can’t enjoy all the above benefits with any other type of draft beer system. Of course, glycol systems are a little more expensive.

The starting point for budgeting a glycol draft beer system is $1,000 per faucet. This includes a standard draft beer tower. For example, a 24-faucet system, similar to the one in the photo at right, ranges from $24,000 – $28,000, including standard installation. Custom towers are extra.

Photo of 24-Faucet Glycol Draft Beer System with Standard Draft Beer Towers
Photo of 24-Faucet Glycol Draft Beer System with Standard Draft Beer Towers

DISCLAIMER: The above video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. This helps support the channel and allows us to continue to make videos like this. Thank you for the support!

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RICK UZUBELL

President of Cabaret Design Group, Rick holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University, and is a F&B consultant and well-known bar design expert with years of experience serving hotels, restaurants, sports bars and destination bars. He has developed a command of bar design solutions involving ergonomics, equipment, systems and finishes that bridges the "Gray Zone" between interior designers and architects. He's also a champion of ADA design in commercial bar applications. Through his unique architectural engineering approach he calls "Integrated Bar Design," Rick solves complex bar design challenges beyond the expertise of typical design professionals. His proudest achievements include curved bar design solutions using the modular bar die system and steel as a core design element. As a commercial bar design specialist, Rick has cutting-edge knowledge of draft beer systems, liquor systems, keg room design and batch cocktail systems. He will add significant value to any commercial bar design project. Rick is a proud member of the F&B consortium known as the "Magnificent 7".
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