Jason Capriotti

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DIY Beer Cellar / Fridge

When I first started getting into craft beer, I immediately recognized the need to store it properly. Since some beer is cellarable for 2-20 or more years, storing at 60 degrees versus 75 degrees over that amount of time can have a large impact on the aging qualities.

Since I lived in an apartment without a basement, a simple solution was to buy a small refrigerator. I later became less anal and started storing some in the back of a closet... but this is the story of how I modified a small inexpensive fridge into a pretty good capacity beer cellar (or wine cellar if you prefer)

Quick Specs

Cost: $150-$200 (I bought it for $150 on sale)
Size: 4.9 cubic feet
Maximum Bottle Capacity (conservative estimate):
- Normal Bottles: 64
- Bombers / 750s: 7
- Nips: 6

The Product

I managed to find a compact refrigerator at Sears that didn't have a freezer compartment. This was important because for my purposes they waste space, and create inconsistent temperatures in the fridge.

Model: Kenmore Elite 4.9 cu. ft. Compact Refrigerator; Sears item #04695499000 Mfr. model #564-95499400

The Modifications

Even better than the specs of the fridge, was its modifiability. I managed to get three full shelves of 12oz bottles, plus two small shelves of 22oz / 750ml bottles.

What follows is a textual description of my modifications. It could be a little hard to follow, but may add pictures at some point.

Took out plastic drawer on bottom
Took out plastic shelve immediately above the drawer
Took out one of the small shelves on the door; adjusted other shelf so that I can get two shelves of 22oz bottles (about six bottles total)
Lowered bottom wire shelf of fridge to the lowest possible setting; this required using my dremel tool to round out part of the bracket to fit around a screw (picture pending)
Lowered top wire shelf to be halfway between the top and where the bottom shelf is.

Original Fridge

Modified Fridge

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