Kegs at a Wedding Reception

[jnolanevans]

I need help! I"m getting married in 10 days and to cut down on spending money we decided to get a couple kegs for the reception (instead of bottles). I've been put in charge of it now, and i don't really know what to do. We're getting Bud Light and Amber Bock. Here are some of my questions:

1. How long can a keg sit without being on ice?
2. How long does it need to be iced before served?
3. What is the best way to ice it? (garbage can? tub?)
4. How many glasses of beer come in a keg?
5. how do you avoid foam?

thanks a lot. i might have missed some important questions so whatever you feel you can give me, i'll take it. Thanks.

j

[Larry Tapper]

Don't let them get warm, 40 degrees or colder till3-4 hrs before use.It depends on how you are going to serve it, pinic pumps cold plate or direct draw system. Garbage cans worh well. about 180-12oz glass to a 1/2 barrel,15.75 gal in the kind you are using. The foam thing can depend on how you are dispense it. Would need to know more.

[edramshaw]

Find out who in your area rents kegerators or cold plates and have them set you up. A cold plate is one of those coolers with a faucet or two out the front that you pack with ice and it helps keeps the beer cold. Either way you should be able to find something. We rent them for weddings all the time. I would avoid using the hand pump types as they are notorious for problems. Good luck and congratulations.

[indianaroller]

1. Once you take it off ice/out of a cooler I would say 2 - 3 hours.
2. It will come chilled from the store. I would keep ice on it the whole time.
3. A new trash can with a 17 inch base would work great.
4. 165 12oz. cups
5. Let the keg sit for atleast 2 hours before tapping it. You should be able to pour the first glass or two with out pumping because the keg already has pressure.

Just make sure that you have the kegs at your reception 2 hours before it starts. When it starts, tap them. Go easy on the pumping. Its that easy.

[oneandonlychaz]

I've found the best method for despensing kegs without a kegerator is to get one of those brute 32 gallon trashcans (the bigger industrial ones) Bring the keg home and immediately lift it into the trashcan. 3 16lb bags of ice are just about perfect for the ones we use. Let it sit for a few hours and than tap and serve. You might wanna add another 16lb bag of ice to it right as your serving it but as long as you dont get too crazy on the pumping you should be fine. It will hold its temp for a while. I picked up 2 kegs one night @ 10pm and put them on ice as said than at about 8am when we tapped them i threw another 16lb bag of ice on both trashcans and i served ice cold beer (38-40 degrees) all morning

[psychodad]

Originally Posted by oneandonlychaz

i served ice cold beer (38-40 degrees) all morning

Breakfast of champions.

[oneandonlychaz]

of course we had a kegs n eggs that morning. We killed 2 kegs by noon. Gotta love being in college