We’re having a outdoor party at our house this Saturday and I’m buying a keg. I’ve never bought one before.
The distributor is only open from 10:00 AM to noon on Saturday, and they suggested getting there early. So I’ll try to pick it up around 10:30 AM or so. We’ll probably tap the keg around 6:00 PM.
Should I put it in a trashcan? What size? 32 gallon ones are pretty cheap. Is that the size I should use? Should I drill small holes in the bottom of the trashcan so water can escape? Should I put a little ice in the bottom of the trashcan before putting the keg in?
We used to have a blue round plastic tub that was a little wider than the circumference of the keg, and went about 1/3 of the way up the keg. We’d put the keg in the tub, surround it with ice, and also cover the top with ice. As the night went on, we’d make sure to keep re-icing it to keep it cold, and as long as we did this, the beer was even fine the day after if we didn’t empty the keg at our party. I’d recommend getting a similar tub at a place like Target or Wal-Mart, and also, if at all possible, picking up your keg a lot closer to party time so you can keep it cold longer. We’d usually get ours from a Kash ‘n’ Karry supermarket, but I’m sure several supermarkets, liquor stores, or even convenience stores might offer kegs with better timing for you.
And if you wanted to keep the beer even colder, you could add ice, water, and salt to the tub it’s in, because ice+saltwater is colder than just ice or ice+water. Of course, you need a fair amunt of salt to do this, so it’s probably not worth it.
I did some quick calculations, and they might be wrong, but I figured that there would be 10 gallons of ice+water, and the desired temperature is ~10 degrees below freezing, which means you would need to add about 11 pounds of salt. I don’t know offhand the price of salt in yuor area, or even my area, but it’s almost one degree per pound of salt.
First of all - make sure the keg is ice cold when you get it. It should be - kegs are supposed to be stored cold at all times. Get a half-height keg tub as suggested by BBVL. Set up everything in a cool, shady place - a basement or garage is fine. Place the keg in the tub, then fill the space between the keg and the inside wall of the tub with ice. Wrap the outside of the tub with a blanket, and the top of the keg with another blanket. As long as the keg was cold when you got it it’ll stay cold until party time. 15 gallons of beer takes a long time to warm up when well insulated.
And make sure you have assistance when moving the keg. They’re heavy.
Kegs of beer do not like to be moved, and the tap will spew foam for a long time afterwards. If you can I suggest gettting the keg the day before, and putting it in place so that the guests get beer not foam.
Thanks for the detailed response. But where do I get a “half-height keg tub”? Can these be purchased? Or do I need to make one from a plastic trashcan?
Hmm. Yea, the keg will get jostled around quite a bit as we transport it over these old rural roads. So are you saying the keg needs to settle a while afterwards? I was going to pick it up Friday evening, but the lady at the distributor said, “I wouldn’t suggest picking up Friday evening if you’re going to tap it Saturday evening, as you’ll be using up (and thus wasting) a lot of ice to keep it cold. I suggest picking it up Saturday at 10:30 AM.” But now I’m thinking (based on your comment) that it might be wiser to get it Friday evening and letting it settle?
Don’t worry to much about what to put the Keg in. Any trash barrel or large tub will do just fine. You get the Keg cold, and then just keep it in ice with ice on it. It will be fine for the night.
In a pinch, you can just put a Keg into the shower with a couple of bags of ice on it and it will be fine.
Don’t pump it too much. If anything, most kegs usually need to have some air let out of them when I’m pouring my glass. IMO, this is is because most people pump the tap the whole time they pour and the end result is too much air (foam) in the glass.
To get a good pour, bend down and hold the cup lower than the top of the keg while filling it. The flow of beer increases a lot when you do this.
If the party is busy and a line is forming at the keg, you can increase the tempo by using pitchers. Fill them from the Keg and then use them to top of people’s cups. This works a lot faster, but for a regular get together of friends probably won’t be required.
Toss a towel over the keg and tap when putting the tap in. Even if you are an old fraternity boy like me, you still can get splashed with lots of beer while twisting the tap on. It’s better to have a towel absorb this than have to change shirts.
Whenever your making out with a girl, try and make sure that side two of Led Zepellin Three is playing.
What everyone here has said is good advice. All I would add is:
Yes, pick up the keg on Friday if you can. The lady at the distributor is more concerned with her convieniance than with your beer. You won’t waste as much ice as she says. Put it in your tub overnight, then bring it outside in the morning.
Secondly, if you plan on doing this more than once, buy your own tap. The ones you get from distributors and most liquor stores are total garbage. Spring for a Co2 one if you can.
Every time I have bought or picked up a keg, they had the ‘keg tubs’ also availablr for rental. I don’t ever remember them being more than $5 to rent and about a $20 deposit. See if these are available.
What? You have a keg full of pain suppressant and you want to go to the emergency room right away? No no. After dropping keg on your foot, just start drinking. Stick your foot in the keg water once in a while to keep the swelling down. Once you are good and drunk… THEN have someone drive you to the emergency room.
Last time I was at a keg party, I discovered a neat little trick. If there’s enough room in the tub surrounding the keg, you can use the icy water as a cup holder. Set the cup in the water, and it will settle in up to beer level in the cup, keeping it nice and cold to the last sip. Especially useful when you’re using those badly-insulated plastic party cups.
Of course, this only works if you’re planning to stay near the keg (our keg was in the living room when I tried this).
I’m trying to decide what it means about my web browsing priorities when I can see an URL for a jet-powered beer cooler, and can say “Oh, that. Yeah, I 've already seen that.” What a world we live in where one can be jaded enough to accept a jet powered beer cooler, but they still haven’t given us our flying cars!
Actually, the victim in the case I observed was fully in favor of your plan, perhaps aided by the fact that he had already been self-medicating himself with the pain suppressant for two hours or so before the incident. I was one of the voices of reason who convinced him to go to an ER, though I wasn’t willing (or legally able) to actually driver him there.
What is this phenomenon of which you speak? Beer warming up before being consumed? I guess it’s theoretically possible, but surely it’s never been observed outside a really boring laboratory.
