A 15.5 US gallon keg, cutaway

A keg is a cylindrical container, usually constructed of aluminum, steel or wood and commonly used to store, transport, and serve beer. Other alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks, carbonated or non-carbonated, may be housed as well. These liquids are generally under pressure. Image File history File links Acap. ... The music of the Virgin Islands reflects long-standing cultural ties to the island nations to the south as well as to various European colonialists. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1312x1838, 299 KB) Keg, cut out, own picture File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Keg ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1312x1838, 299 KB) Keg, cut out, own picture File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Keg ... For other uses, see Beer (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Formerly a keg was a small barrel made by a cooper used to transport items such as nails^{[citation needed]}. Traditional wooden barrels in Cutchogue Modern aluminium beer barrels - also called casks - outside the Castle Rock microbrewery in Nottingham, England A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container, traditionally made of wood staves and bound with iron hoops. ... Assembly of a barrel in progress A cooper readies, or rounds off, the end of a barrel using a coopers hand adze at the Van Ryn Brandy Cellar near Stellenbosch, South Africa Traditionally, a cooper is someone who makes wooden staved vessels of a conical form, of greater length than... A pile of nails. ...

Metrology

Since keg sizes are standardized, the keg can be used as a standard unit of measure for liquid volumes. See:- Physical unit for relevance in physics. ... The volume of a solid object is the three-dimensional concept of how much space it occupies, often quantified numerically. ...

A typical half-keg with single opening in the centre of the top end

A full keg is a 15.5 U.S. gallon barrel, routinely called a half-barrel. A half keg or pony keg is therefore called a quarter-barrel and has a volume of 7.75 U.S. gallons. Generally a keg is a vessel smaller than a barrel, thus it is 30 gallons or smaller.^[1] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The gallon (abbreviation: gal) is a unit of volume. ...

The terms half-barrel and quarter-barrel are derived from the fact that a U.S. beer barrel is legally defined as being equal to 31 U.S. gallons (note that this is not the same volume as some other units commonly known as barrels. A 15.5 U.S. gallon keg is also equal to: The barrel is the name of several units of volume: Oil barrel: 42 U.S. gallons, 158. ...

• 12.9 Imperial gallons
• 58.67 liters
• 100^{[verification needed]} Imperial pints
• 124 U.S. pints
• 165 12 fluid ounce drinks
• About 6.88 24-unit cases of 12 oz. cans.

However, beer kegs can come in many sizes: Imperial Measure was a former system of measurement used in some Commonwealth nations, most notably the United Kingdom and Canada. ... The liter (spelled liter in American English and litre in Commonwealth English) is a unit of volume. ... A fluid ounce is a unit of volume in both the Imperial system of units and the U.S. customary units system. ... Look up case in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The gallon (abbreviation: gal) is a unit of volume. ... The litre or liter (see spelling differences) is a unit of volume. ... Cornelius Keg A cornelius keg (also known as Cornies) is a metal container mostly used to hold home brewed beer. ...

Differences between a keg and a cask

In brewing parlance, a keg is different from a cask. The keg is built with a downtube located in its center with a valve to force gasses out when filling and air in when dispensing. Kegs are artificially pressurised after fermentation with carbon dioxide or a mixture of carbon dioxide and nitrogen gas. A cask has a tap hole near the edge of the top, and a spile hole on the side used for conditioning the unfiltered and unpasteurised beer. Casks are simply gravity-fed for the dispensing of liquids. Additionally, kegs have a simple concave bottom whereas a cask is flat on the bottom. The concavity allows for sediment to be captured away from the flow pipe in the keg. Lastly, kegs have straight sides, unlike the traditional barrel or cask shape. A barrel is a hollow cylindrical container, usually made of wood staves and bound with iron bands. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Fermentation (biochemistry). ... In order to meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article requires cleanup. ... General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless gas Standard atomic weight 14. ... A spile is a small wooden peg used to control the flow of carbon dioxide out of a cask of real ale. ...

Keg Beer

Keg beer is a term for beer which is served from a pressurized keg. While often considered synonymous to draught beer, keg beer refers specifically to beer served under pressure, while draught beer may refer to any beer served from a larger container, including both keg beer and cask ale. Keg beer is often filtered and/or pasteurized, both of which are processes that render the yeast inactive, increasing the shelf life of the product at the expense of flavor. For other uses, see Beer (disambiguation). ... Draught beer keg fonts at the Delirium Café in Brussels Draught beer (also called draft beer or tap beer) has several related though slightly different understandings. ... Cask ale is the term given to unfiltered and unpasteurised beer which is conditioned and served from a cask without additional pressure. ... In chemistry, alchemy and water treatment, filtration is the process of using a filter to mechanically separate a mixture. ... Pasteurization (or pasteurisation) is the process of heating liquids for the purpose of destroying viruses and harmful organisms such as bacteria, protozoa, molds, and yeasts. ... Typical divisions Ascomycota (sac fungi) Saccharomycotina (true yeasts) Taphrinomycotina Schizosaccharomycetes (fission yeasts) Basidiomycota (club fungi) Urediniomycetes Sporidiales Yeasts are a growth form of eukaryotic microorganisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with approximately 1,500 species described. ...

Keg has become a term of contempt used by some since the 1960s as pasteurised draught beers were replacing traditional cask beers. The quality of the kegging process was not as good then as it is today, and sometimes the keg beers are referred to as Plastic Beer. Some people believed that chemicals (adjuncts) were used to create a foam head. These perceptions still mar keg beer to this day. In beer making and homebrewing, an adjunct is an ingredient other than water, barley, hops, and yeast. ...

Despite this consumer concern, keg beer was replacing traditional cask ale in all parts of the UK, primarily because it requires less care to handle. Since the mid-1970s, the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has been conducting a successful consumer campaign which focused attention on those consumers who preferred traditional cask beer. As well as this, CAMRA has successfully lobbied the British Parliament to ensure support for cask ale. New, small microbreweries have sprung up to serve those consumers who prefer traditional cask beer. Today most pubs in the UK will serve both keg and cask beer. The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent, voluntary, consumer organisation in the United Kingdom whose main aim is promoting real ale and the traditional British pub. ... The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative institution in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories (it alone has parliamentary sovereignty). ... Cask ale is the term given to unfiltered and unpasteurised beer which is conditioned and served from a cask without additional pressure. ... Beer barrels outside the Castle Rock microbrewery in Nottingham, England. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ...

The Mini Keg

Collection of Canadian Bubba Mini Kegs

Many beer brands are now producing a 5-liter mini keg for retail sales. Some brands come with a spout and pour from the bottom via gravity; while others such as the Heineken DraughtKeg come pressurized, include a tap, and pour from the top. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 445 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (576 × 775 pixel, file size: 148 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Source: A collage of mini kegs created by me (user: rockjetty) from a personal collection of mini kegs. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 445 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (576 × 775 pixel, file size: 148 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Source: A collage of mini kegs created by me (user: rockjetty) from a personal collection of mini kegs. ... Heineken (or Heineken Brouwerijen) is a Dutch beer brewer, established in 1863 when Gerard Adriaan Heineken purchased a brewery in Amsterdam. ...

In Canada, Molson Canadian dubbed the mini keg Bubba (see photo). Much like other brand names (see genericized trademark), the name is now generally applied to all 5-liter mini kegs in Canada. This might cause confusion, as a company called Bubba Keg[1] is established in the U.S., and appears to not be associated with Molson. Molson Inc. ... A genericized trademark, generic trade mark, generic descriptor, or proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name which has become the colloquial or generic description for a particular class of product or service. ...

The Pony Keg

A pony keg is a beer vessel containing 7.75 U.S. gallons (29.33 liters) of fluid. It is half the size of the standard beer keg and equivalent to a quarter of a barrel. It will serve roughly 82 twelve ounce cups. The shape of a pony keg resembles that of a full-sized keg, while being much easier to move manually. However, it shares many inconveniences with the bigger kegs, such as: often requiring a deposit when purchased; needing a tap to serve the contents; and posing difficulties in determining the amount of beer remaining (weighing the keg or observing its buoyancy are common techniques). Despite this, a pony keg can be a cheap way to provide beer for a medium-sized party. For other uses, see Beer (disambiguation). ... A fluid ounce is a unit of volume in both the Imperial system of units and the U.S. customary units system. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Categories: Stub ...

UK keg supply structure

The beer vessel supply structure in the UK is quite different, whilst the couplers for kegs have been largely standardised to sankey, grundy and interbrew, a couple of others exist such as UEC and U-Type; however these are much less common. The kegs themselves are either steel or increasingly the more lightweight aluminum variety. The standard keg size is 11 imperial gallons (50 liter/88 imperial pints approx) and the vast majority of keg beers are supplied in this keg size. There are also smaller 30 liter (54 imperial pints approx) kegs usually reserved for more specialist and or premium European beers. A typical half-keg with single opening in the centre of the top end Keg beer is a term for beer which is served from a pressurized keg. ...

A number of manufacturers also produce 22 imperial gallon (100Litre/172 imperial pints approx) kegs, however owing to their size they are not very popular as manual handling is extremely difficult, and as a result they tend to be used only for large scale events and bars with high throughput.

A further keg type exists within the UK beer industry, which is a 9 imperial gallon (72 imperial pints approx) firkin for cask ales. Whilst not strictly a keg in terms of being a pressurised vessel, the basic function as a receptacle for containing beer and out of which beer is dispensed is the same. The cask contains beer in a live form, in that the beer is still undergoing secondary fermentation up until the point of consumption and is not pasturised like 'keg' beers therefore the cask is also part of the brewing and maturation process. Cask ale is the term given to unfiltered and unpasteurised beer which is conditioned and served from a cask without additional pressure. ...

Tapping a keg

There are two different types of tapping equipment that are available for kegs, party pumps and gas taps. Party pumps utilize outside air, which may introduce bacteria inside the keg, reducing the quality of the beer. Kegs operating a party pump should be used within 18-24 hours otherwise the beer will become unpalatable. Gas pumps normally use CO₂, but certain brewers require a mix of other gases (Guinness requires 25% CO₂ and 75% Nitrogen). Gas pumps can preserve a keg up to 120 days with proper refrigeration.

As with any pressurized container, a keg can cause injury, even at normal operating pressure, whether with compressed air or carbon dioxide: Table of Pneumaticks, 1728 Cyclopaedia This article is about the tool. ... In order to meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article requires cleanup. ...

"The tapping system and pressure regulator both should be equipped with a pressure relief (blow off) device. If you are not familiar with tapping equipment, consult your retailer..." (printed on an Anheuser-Busch's keg cap)

Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. ...

Homebrewing kegs

Homebrewers often use kegs for aging, filtering, and storing beer. These are seldom the standard kegs used by major brewers to transport draught beer to wholesalers, but instead are reconditioned Cornelius kegs (colloquially known as "cornies") that were originally manufactured to store soda - these vessels are much easier to fill, clean and maintain than standard beer kegs. Homebrew is an album by Paul Lansky. ... Draught beer keg fonts at the Delirium Café in Brussels Draught beer (also called draft beer or tap beer) has several related though slightly different understandings. ... Cornelius Keg A cornelius keg (also known as Cornies) is a metal container mostly used to hold home brewed beer. ... A soft drink is a drink that contains no alcohol. ...

These kegs are stainless steel cylinders that hold approximately 5 U.S. gallons of liquid. The keg is filled with liquid (wort or beer) via a removable hatch on the top, which is then closed and sealed. Carbon dioxide is added to pressurize the keg via an inlet port on the top and is facilitated by gently rocking the brew back and forth. Liquid is dispensed via an outlet port attached to a tube that extends to the bottom of the keg. Pin-lock and ball-lock fittings (or posts) are the two types of couplings used on the inlet and outlet ports. Coke distrubutors used pin-lock fittings, while Pepsi distributors used ball-lock fittings. Ball-lock are most used. The pin-lock style is often referred to as a "Coke" keg or style and the ball-lock is often referred to as a "Pepsi" keg or style, though the fittings themselves are removable, serviceable, and contain interchangeable parts.[2] WORT 89. ... For other uses, see Beer (disambiguation). ... In order to meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article requires cleanup. ...

Homebrewers often use 15.5 U.S. gallon kegs for boiling vessels in creating wort. The kegs are drilled for a drain at the bottom, and the top cut open to create a large stainless steel cooking kettle.

Alternatively, kegs specifically designed for home brewing are available[3]. The capacity may be matched to commercial extract brewing kits - typically 12 and 23 litres. Smaller 2.5 gallon kegs[4] are also made for ease of transporting to a function.

Cleaning and Care

All kegs may have residual pressure, and this must be vented to avoid having the valve explode and injure or kill a person as the valve shoots out. Conventional 15.5 U.S. gallon kegs have circle spring clips that can be removed to release the tap valve. Some kegs such as those used by Miller have threaded valves from Micro Matic that, after venting, can be opened by lightly tapping the valve ears with a mallet or using a pry bar spun out counterclockwise. These valves then need to have the ball lock depressed while the valve head is lifted to overcome a safety. The safety prevents the valve from releasing under pressure.

It is recommended that kegs not be cleaned with bleach but instead with an iodine based cleaner^{[citation needed]}. The ball lock valves may be unscrewed using wrenches to allow further cleaning or replacement of O-rings or poppet valves.

Keg laws

Main article: Keg registration

In the U.S. as of 2005, there are 21 states and numerous localities that have keg registration laws. The laws vary widely in terms of whom they target, what their intended purpose is, and how strongly they are enforced. Beer keg registration is a legal requirement that identification tags or labels be affixed to beer kegs upon retail sale. ...

Games involving kegs

There are many games involving kegs. Some of the more popular ones include keg races, keg riding and keg tossing. Some keg games involve the consumption of the beer inside the keg itself as part of the competition, while others involve doing various things (carrying, tossing, etc) with an empty keg. For example, "Keg Race" can refer to a game in which the participants must spin around a keg a number of times, and usually consume some set amount of beer. But it can also refer to a game in which an empty keg is actually carried as an extra large "baton" in an athletic race. On college campuses, the standard version of "Keg Race" pits two teams (often rival fraternities) against each other, each with a keg, in a race to see who can finish their keg first. In another variant, (known as "Continuous Keg" in Australia), a large group of people will get together and attempt to collectively drink an entire keg without ever turning off the tap.

In America, kegs have become a staple at college parties, which are sometimes called "keggers". Popular keg games played at keggers include beer pong and flip cup. Another game popular in America is the "keg stand", in which the participant is held upside down with the tap in his or her mouth, drinking. The crowd often chants a simple phrase such as "chug! chug!" or counts off the seconds that the participant has been upside-down. A kegger is a party centering around the presence of a keg of beer; the primary activity at such a get-together is the consumption of beer from the keg, either by dispensing it into cups (the stereotype is of red or blue plastic cups) or by imbibing directly from... For the similar drinking game involving table tennis paddles, see beer pong (paddles). ... Flip Cup, also known as Flipper, Flippy Cup, Taps, Tippy Cup, Flippity Whippity, Cups, Canoe, Turbos or Turbo Cups, is a team-based drinking game. ... Typical form for a keg stand Keg stand (sometimes known as getting vertical ) is often considered a drinking ritual using a beer keg, but it is not always competitive. ...

Keg hiring

Keg hiring is the act of obtaining a keg for the purposes of consumption, typically at an event or party.

In the US and Australia the typical application of the keg hire is by using either a keg stored in a bucket of ice or water and/or the beer is passed through a beer line coil in ice to cool the beer. The beer is then usually dispensed directly from the keg via an attached tap where the beer is cooled by the bucket method, the latter method is usually dispensed by a tap on the side of an insulated cool box (which contains ice and the coil). The keg in this scenario is typically manually pumped using air (picnic pumps as described above) to pressurise the keg thereby maintaining carbonation and providing enough force to expel the beer from the keg. The kegs are not usually gas dispensed; however for more permanent setups such as home bars this is more common due to freshness issues.

In the UK the keg hiring scene is significantly less well developed and is in its infancy, this is likely to be from a number of factors such as the relatively poor weather in contrast to the US and Australia making outdoor oriented parties less popular, also due to the restrictive nature of the industry supply structure and the pronounced UK 'pub' culture. A notable difference in the UK market however is the method of dispensing which focuses on cooling the beer primarily after it leaves the keg. Because the US and Australia tend to have high ambient temperatures, keeping the keg itself cold is essential to ensure the carbon dioxide in the beer does not separate and therefore cause the beer to fob (go frothy). The UK does not usually have the same problem as temperatures are lower. A number of dispense issues and solutions for the UK-style setup can be referred to here on a UK keg hire website Kegless. By cooling outside the keg and the limited supply of ice easily available, it is common to use under bar 'flash' coolers; these operate on the same basic principle as the cool box and the coil however are electrically powered and cool a bath of water into an ice block around the coil. This provides a very tidy and effective method for dispensing cold beer.

Keg Storage

The latest development in keg storage is the Stack-Em (UK trade name) or the Pile Up (French Trade name) a patented system that allows kegs to be safely stacked allowing more barrels to be stored in a smaller area safely reducing the inherent risk of toppling and other health and safety issues surrounding the storage of kegs. Also by reducing the size of a cellar the Stack-Em can help reduce the carbon foot print of cellars due to a smaller area being cooled. Some college students who use kegs have a storage container known as the "kegerator."

See also

• Barrel
• Firkin
• Kegger
• Cask ale
• Draught beer

Traditional wooden barrels in Cutchogue Modern stainless steel beer barrels—also called casks or kegs—outside the Castle Rock microbrewery in Nottingham, England For other uses, see Barrel (disambiguation). ... A Firkin is an old English unit of volume. ... A Kegger is the name typically given to a party at which a keg, or several kegs of beer are present. ... Cask ale is the term given to unfiltered and unpasteurised beer which is conditioned and served from a cask without additional pressure. ... Draught beer keg fonts at the Delirium Café in Brussels Draught beer (also called draft beer or tap beer) has several related though slightly different understandings. ...

References

• "Definition of a Keg"
• "Parts of a Keg"
• "Smaller home brew kegs"

1. ^ "keg".. (2004). Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.. Retrieved on 2007-06-21. 

Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Keg Beer Dispensing Articles and Education
• OSHA: Beverage Delivery Ergonomics
• Micromatic FAQ about Beer
• Keg FAQs Frequently asked questions on how to setup a keg of beer and how to maintain keg tapping equipment.
• Beer Brand / Keg Coupler Listing Reference Guide: Match the beer brand with the correct keg coupler (keg tap) or keg pump.