# Question about kegs **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 15, 2008, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-kegs/437729 "2008-02-15T13:39:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-kegs/437729/1 "2008-02-15T13:39:15Z")
A friend of mine has a kegerator. If I got him a keg as a gift, is it fine to have it sit around untapped for a month or so while he finishes the current keg? ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-kegs/437729/2 "2008-02-15T13:53:35Z")
It should be okay as long as it’s refrigerated. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-kegs/437729/3 "2008-02-15T14:02:59Z")
That might be an issue. The only room he has to refrigerate it is the fridge with the keg already in it. ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-kegs/437729/4 "2008-02-15T14:18:50Z")
Untapped, I’d not worry about it. I’d not let it get hot, but room temperature/cellar temperatures would be just fine. Light is beer’s greatest enemy, not minor changes in temperature. I’m also hoping such a gift is not a megabrewed light lager. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-kegs/437729/5 "2008-02-15T15:22:55Z")
[QUOTE=butler1850] Untapped, I’d not worry about it. I’d not let it get hot, but room temperature/cellar temperatures would be just fine. Light is beer’s greatest enemy, not minor changes in temperature. I’m also hoping such a gift is not a megabrewed light lager. [/QUOTE] That’s what he normally drinks, and it would not go unappreciated, believe me. But, I was thinking Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. He likes that a lot, too. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-kegs/437729/6 "2008-02-15T15:39:51Z")
Pay for the keg and give him a card saying he can pick it up at Joe’s Liquor whenever he empties his current keg. That way your buddy gets fresh beer. Sierra Nevada shouldn’t sit around waiting to be served. It’s a sin, it is! ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-kegs/437729/7 "2008-02-15T16:20:15Z")
Kegged beer is often (dare I say almost never?) pasteurized. It’s part of the appeal, part of the difference in taste. _Don’t_ let it sit around without refrigeration! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-kegs/437729/8 "2008-02-15T16:24:44Z")
[QUOTE=Anheuser-Busch Wholesale Dept.] • Draught is best if it is kept cold at all times. • The best temperature range for draught coolers is 36°-38° F. • Draught stored over 45° F may spoil and turn cloudy. • If draught storage is too cold (below 36° F), it will pour slowly with little foam head, it may look cloudy, and it will have less flavor and aroma. • If stored over 42° F, draught will draw wild or foamy from the faucet. [/QUOTE] So yeah, it needs to be chilled. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-kegs/437729/9 "2008-02-15T16:45:21Z")
[QUOTE=Trunk] A friend of mine has a kegerator. If I got him a keg as a gift, is it fine to have it sit around untapped for a month or so while he finishes the current keg? [/QUOTE] I have a kegerator. Will you be my friend? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ArmenE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ArmenE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArmenE)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-kegs/437729/10 "2008-02-15T16:45:50Z")
[QUOTE=Balthisar] Kegged beer is often (dare I say almost never?) pasteurized. It’s part of the appeal, part of the difference in taste. _Don’t_ let it sit around without refrigeration! [/QUOTE] You meant to say ‘often not pasteurized’ ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-kegs/437729/11 "2008-02-15T16:55:40Z")
[QUOTE=ArmenE] You meant to say ‘often not pasteurized’ [/QUOTE] D’oh! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-kegs/437729/12 "2008-02-15T17:02:26Z")
How do you know he didn’t mean often passedyoureyes ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-kegs/437729/13 "2008-02-15T17:21:50Z")
Thanks. I guess it might be good to give him a “gift cert” or something. ---
**Author:** ![Carson\_O\_Genic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Carson\_O\_Genic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carson_O_Genic)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-kegs/437729/14 "2008-02-15T17:32:12Z")
An appropriate time for this question-some years ago you would need a different tap depending on the brewer.Has everyone ( in the U.S.) switched to the ball lock or are other systems extant? ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-kegs/437729/15 "2008-02-15T17:36:38Z")
[QUOTE=Carson O’Genic] An appropriate time for this question-some years ago you would need a different tap depending on the brewer.Has everyone ( in the U.S.) switched to the ball lock or are other systems extant? [/QUOTE] Having worked in a bar and thrown many a rugby party, I can say that just about the only beer I’ve seen that uses a different tap is Guinness, and that’s because it’s nitrogenated instead of pressurized by carbon dioxide. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-kegs/437729/16 "2008-02-15T17:38:02Z")
[QUOTE=Carson O’Genic] An appropriate time for this question-some years ago you would need a different tap depending on the brewer.Has everyone ( in the U.S.) switched to the ball lock or are other systems extant? [/QUOTE] All the big US/Canadian/Mexican brands are sankey. I don’t get the European stuff because they use different tappers. The microbreweries are mostly offering ball-lock Cornelius connectors hereabouts, which works for me. Of course they’re not full half-barrels, which is great for fitting into my fridge with the 1/2 or 1/4. > [@chowder](#): > > How do you know he didn’t mean often passedyoureyes That wouldn’t make sense in the context of my parenthetical indicating “almost never” coupled with my plea to refrigerate it! ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-kegs/437729/17 "2008-02-15T17:44:05Z")
Looks like, as **Balthisar** pointed out, that European beers use a Sankey S connector, while North American breweries use a Sankey D. I’ve tapped at least one hundred Newcastle kegs, and never noticed it was a different tap because their actions are so similar. Nitrogenated beers use an English U System connector. > **[Undergrounddigital.com may be for sale - PerfectDomain.com](https://perfectdomain.com/domain/undergrounddigital.com)** > > Checkout the full domain details of Undergrounddigital.com. Click Buy Now to instantly start the transaction or Make an offer to the seller! ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-kegs/437729/18 "2008-02-15T17:53:20Z")
When I was brewing a lot of ale (and kegging most of it), I just kept my kegs in a reasonably cool room, where the temperature was usually in the 60’s. I never had a problem. A month isn’t a problem. Light isn’t an issue, because kegs are opaque, but you obviously want to keep it out of direct sunlight because of the heat. At one point, most of the homebrewers were using soda kegs with pin-lock attachments and the commercial brewers were using ball-lock. Almost everybody has switched now, but, but I have two sets of taps and both types of kegs. [QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] So yeah, it needs to be chilled. [/QUOTE] [Nitpick]That’s Anheuser-Busch, and their products are lagers. He’s talking about Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, which is…well…ale. It is brewed, stored, and served at higher temperatures than lagers. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-kegs/437729/19 "2008-02-15T18:02:29Z")
**InvisibleWombat** , because they’re the same fridge, I necessarily have to drink my own ales at lager temperatures. I have no trouble keeping my own, hand crafted good outside of the fridge for a while, despite its not being pasteurized, but I know where it’s been during every step of its production, i.e., its sanitized. I don’t know that the same is necessarily true of commercial kegs, though, else they’d not bother to pasteurize their bottle products, and wouldn’t recommend storage temperatures. For everyone else, for what it’s worth, you don’t have to worry about getting sick if it spoils; the bad guys can’t handle the beer. But you might get some funny tasting critters and some mold. Or it they’re as sanitary as **InvisibleWombat** suggests, it’ll be perfectly fine. By non-sanitary, I don’t mean in the restaurant sense, like it’s loaded with filth or anything, by the way! ---
**Author:** ![NunOfTheAbove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@NunOfTheAbove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NunOfTheAbove)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-kegs/437729/20 "2008-02-15T18:24:06Z")
As someone who routinely buys kegs of the aforementioned beer (I live in Chico and it’s cheaper than water here), I have never noticed any depreciation in quality if the keg is used within the a reasonable amount of time. As a homebrewer, my keg beer stays about as fresh for about as long as my bottled beer without refrigeration, but this excludes most lagers since they are (usually) cold fermented. Sorry about all the (parenthetical) statements [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-kegs/437729.md?page=2)