When I first talked to the fine folks at Newair about reviewing one of their fridges (specifically their 96-Can Freestanding Fridge), I was hesitant. I mean… I have several fridges running around the house, and honestly, I’m not always too pleased with them. They all seem to struggle with something. Either they’re ugly, keep things too warm, or they’re just too small. It’s actually comical how many fridge issues that I have considering how much beer we drink in my house. Anyway, I was blown away though when I received this one. It’s all that I could have hoped for. Let me explain.
The Look
I don’t mind things being a little “gnarly” when it comes to my basement. After all, a basement bar that’s called the ‘Gnarly Gnome Tavern’ can be a little rugged and rough around the edges. But that doesn’t mean I want a fridge that looks terrible to be a centerpiece of any room. My wife especially struggles with some of the stuff that I bring into the basement under the guise of “gnarliness”.
Thank god that this fridge is stunning. It’s jet black, with a glass door that showcases the beautiful beer and its often stunning artwork housed inside. A great dimmable ice blue light inside makes the fridge so it can be a focal point or blend into the laid-back vibe that you might want your own bar or kitchen to have.
This fridge has found its new home inside the podcast studio, where it will (eventually) have cabinets built around it, so it needs to look great – and it does.
Operation
A few things to note here, as I mentioned before, this is located in my podcast studio. My biggest fear with the fridge was that it was going to be too loud to keep in there while I was trying to record. That fear was quickly squashed when I got it up and running. This thing is whisper-quiet, and doesn’t even run that much unless you spend a long time deciding what to drink with the door wide open.
It also keeps things nice and cold. My primary beer fridge under the bar is a little warm (which isn’t the end of the world for beer) but this one doesn’t have any trouble keeping things down in the high 30s where I wanted it to be. I keep finding myself leaning towards also keeping pop and water and other “non-beer” stuff in there, just because it does such a great job at what it does.
Adaptability
While this is billed as a 96can fridge (and it is..) I don’t think I’ll ever use it that way. I have arranged the shelves inside to accommodate a lot of different vessels. From 64oz growlers and 22oz bombers on one shelf. To 16oz cans and 12oz bottles on another, to a spot, for 12oz cans to live. I have a space for whatever beer ends up finding its way into my studio.
I don’t think NewAir highlighted the adaptability of this fridge nearly enough in their marketing. It’s great! As people come in and out of my studio for shows, there will not be a fear that I’ll have to make room for whatever beer we might be drinking that night.
Summary
Like I mentioned… this was offered up for me to review from the folks at NewAir. Up until now, I’ve probably been a little cheap with the fridges that I’ve chosen for keeping my beer cold – and that 100% shows in the look and functionality of those fridges. No more. This fridge alone has convinced me that as I start replacing those fridges I will be doing so with NewAir and some of their other products.
I’m sold!
If you’re interested in snagging one of these for yourself, it’s as easy as jumping over to NewAir’s website where you can order online and have it delivered right to your door and up and running in no time! If that’s not enough – if you use the coupon code “GnarlyGnome20” you can get a pretty sweet discount on your fridge too!!
