A keezer collar is the wooden frame built onto a chest freezer lid to raise the height enough for beer taps and shanks to clear the freezer’s edge. The wood choice matters less for structural strength than for moisture handling and looks — the collar sits directly over cold, often condensing air, so an unsealed or poorly chosen board will warp, mold, or rot faster than in any normal furniture build.
Framing lumber: 2×6 is the standard
Most keezer collar builds start with 2×6 dimensional lumber, commonly fir, for the actual frame that bolts to the freezer lid. It gives enough depth to route wiring and mount shanks while staying easy to source and cut with basic tools. Some builders go with sturdier stock like 95x45mm timbers if they’re mounting a lot of hardware or a wood-clad exterior on top.
The sandwich approach: cheap inside, nice outside
A popular construction method uses inexpensive plywood on the interior face, a layer of rigid foam insulation in the middle, and a nicer hardwood or stained pine on the visible exterior. This keeps material costs down where no one sees the wood while still giving the collar a finished look on the outside faces that matter for a kegerator sitting in a garage or kitchen.
Pine: the affordable default
Planed pine with a water-resistant varnish or polyurethane finish is the most common single-species choice — cheap, easy to work, and perfectly serviceable once properly sealed. Left unsealed, pine (like any softwood) will absorb condensation and swell.
Cedar for the interior, hardwood for the face
Some builders line the interior with cedar, prized for natural moisture and rot resistance, then use hardwood on the visible exterior faces chosen mainly for grain pattern rather than any structural property — hardwood costs meaningfully more than cedar or pine, so it’s usually reserved for the parts people actually see.
Finishing matters more than species
Whatever wood you pick, stain and seal it with polyurethane before final assembly, and caulk every interior seam. The real threat to a keezer collar isn’t the species of wood — it’s moist air finding an unsealed joint, condensing, and causing rust, mold, or warping from the inside where you won’t notice until it’s already damaged.