Now that we know where to buy beer, what different options there are for purchases of kegs, and what type of tap we want, the next major issue is whether to get a domestic, import, or micro brew.

If you love one type of beer and always buy that type, then odds are you just want to upgrade to buy it by the keg rather then the case. (Then again, If you bounce around and like to try different flavors every time you are at the store, you probably aren’t the right person for this article).

I tend to stay away from imports. Since I do rotate between summer (lighter) and winter (dark) beers, I need to have all the beers use the same tap. To do this, Both taps in my current kegerator are US Sankeys. This prevents me from going and getting many of the import beers. Even when I’ve thought about expansion, I’ve never really seriously considered adding a different tap. If you favorite beer is an import, then have at, but otherwise, most home kegerators won’t run them.

If you live an an area that is lucky enough to have great micro brews like me then you can get some real variety. Be aware that many micro-brews don’t have the consistency that the domestic beers have. This isn’t bad and many times isn’t significant unless you taste two batches side by side. As I mentioned when we were talking about distributors, many micro brewers don’t have the set schedules like a full distributor and that means that getting it may cause you problems. On the bright side, if you buy from the same brewer enough, gradually you get to know that and eventually you might find them more flexible for a regular customer then for some new person.

This one comes down to personal tastes. I run micros pretty regularly and every once in a while I will get a domestic beer. Usually that’s when it’s a great (cheap) deal though so read the next page to find out when get domestics.