Another Jockey Box Questions

[Dawn T]

New to the Forum (and blogging)...Have a question, what are reasonable numbers for dispensing from jockey boxes vs. the large keg coolers (4 box)? For example, a July outdoor concert in WY with 10,000 to 12,000 people? I am getting conflicting information from my local distributors. Thanks, appreciate any advice or words of wisdom.

[Scott Zuhse]

The jockey boxes with 120' coils are designed to handle large events. They will allow beer no warmer than 50F in the keg to be dispensed with faucets virtually wide open.

Maintain a consistent ice water bath over the coils and add ice as the event is ongoing. The warmer the beer, the more ice you will require.

Placing the kegs in series allows for less system maintenance. Based on volume, the series can be customized where the system would be hands off the majority of the event. The only maintenance would be to check the kegs in series to determine which are empty and to check the ice bath over the coils.

[Dawn T]

Thank you. Which system would you recommend? My decision will not be based on costs, I do not want to compromise the customer experience at all.

[Scott Zuhse]

Check out this link to jockey boxes. Select a system that uses the 120' coil. This is a proven system at many events over the last couple of decades.

[Hophead]

Dawn, I think Scott missed your second question, "Which is better for an event with 10-12 thousand people, jockey boxes or a large, 4 keg cooler dispensing system?

Personally, I can't say which is better but both would probably work equally well as far as dispensing quality beer at high volumes (as long as the jockey boxes use 120 ft stainless coils as Scott pointed out). I guess it comes down to which is more readily available to you. The jockey box route may require a little more maintenance during the event since you'll need to refresh the ice in the ice/water bath but you also don't need to worry about keeping a bunch of kegs cold. Just make sure they don't get too warm (over 50-55 deg f) and keep them out of the sun. I also like the idea of putting the tapped kegs in series so there's less to deal with as far as untapping and tapping kegs as the day goes on.

As far as the customer experience goes, as long as the organizer of the event understands the proper operation of the jockey box setup, the beer should pour nice and cold all day.

[Dawn T]

Scott & Hophead, thank you for the info.

I'm still deciding, there are a lot of factors. The people are in SRO (standing room only) the kegs are in direct sunlight. Keeping the kegs cold prior isn't really a problem, they are in a refer truck close by.

[BrewGuru]

As long as your kegs are in a refrigerated truck, you should have minimal problems even if they are to be in a warm area. It would be best to cover them with a white sheet or similarly light colored shield if feasible.

How many faucets are you looking at total for the event and what is the duration? 10k-12k people is a sizable event, and if you need to serve a LOT of beer to MANY people in a relatively SHORT TIME this might factor in.

Having used a wide variety of equipment for high capacity event dispensing, including jockey boxes, portable refrigerated draft trailers, and full size commercial keg boxes on site, I can say that overall the least problems have been had with jockey boxes. As long as you can supply ice, gas, and beer - they are relatively simple. The refrigeration failing on your rental trailer at the high point of the event is not something you want to have to run into...trust me.

[Scott Zuhse]

Jockey Box coil systems were designed specifically fro these type events. If you desire multiple dispense locations, even better.