Many bar and restaurant operators focus on expanding their draft beer selection without fully understanding the math behind beer storage. Even as more breweries close, operators are still looking for ways to expand their beer menus without always addressing the challenge of storing large volumes of beer, often with limited space.
Effective beer storage isn’t just for today—smart planning ensures your cooler can handle both current and future needs. And it all begins with beer math. Through beer math, operators can better understand how much beer they need to store and avoid over-allocating space, leading to cost savings in cooler size, electrical consumption, and real estate.
🍺 Additional Reading: Calculate Your Beer Math Today!
Take Ford’s Garage in Tampa, FL. Cooler Concepts analyzed their draft beer storage and found that by optimizing their cooler, they could reduce storage by 30 kegs each weekend. That saved 40 square feet of space and $4,500 on their bottom line. It’s not just about storage—it’s about optimizing space for profitability.
For independent operators and mom-and-pop restaurants, planning your beer storage can also lead to significant savings. Cooler Concepts has helped small operations maximize their cooler space, saving room for other food-related items. Smaller coolers also cost less upfront—there’s typically a $6,000 savings between a 10x12 and an 8x10 cooler. And that’s not counting the long-term reduction in electrical consumption, all of which can add up to $60,000 per year in savings.
The longer you wait, the higher your costs. Investing in proper keg storage and shelving now will save you money immediately and in the long term. Cooler Concepts has the expertise and tools to help operators optimize their space and increase profitability—at no upfront cost for advice. If you’re already investing in detailed POS systems to measure beer pours, why not take the same detailed approach to your cooler storage? Start with our Beer Math Calculator.