Keg Rentals
Need to bring beer for a party, barbeque, or other event? Get the freshest beer at the best price by getting a keg! Watts Brewing offers keg rentals at the taproom, just stop by to pick one up at the register.
Keg vs Cans
Why prefer kegs? Well obviously there’s the romance of perfectly poured draft beer on tap at home, but there are a few more tangible differences too.
The big reason bars and restaurants prefer kegs to cans is price. Beer—like anything—is cheaper when you buy in bulk. On top of that, kegs are refillable containers whereas cans are disposable (please recycle!), so we have to buy and fill the cans for each individual beer you drink. Taking The Leafcutter as an example, the retail price is $12 for a 6-pack of cans vs $195 for a 1/2 bbl keg, which amounts to $.17/fl oz for cans vs $.10/fl oz for draft beer. Saving 40% on your beer is nice.
Another consideration is freshness. When properly packaged and stored, beer should be identical whether poured from a can or the tap. The challenge is packaging the beer correctly without exposing it to oxygen which can accelerate staling. Kegs are a closed container, so the air can be flushed and replaced with carbon dioxide—CO2 is the same gas produced by the yeast to form carbonation—and the beer can be transferred in safely. When filling cans, the can is still purged with CO2, but the top is open to the air while beer flows in, so it’s a delicate process to make sure that oxygen doesn’t contaminate the packaged beer. We monitor our canning process to verify that we are seeing consistently low dissolved oxygen in the cans, but this isn’t the case for all small breweries. Crowlers, for example, are filled from the tap and sealed with the chance of oxygen in the package. Like growlers, they are best consumed within a week.
The last major factor to consider is flexibility. Cans of course are much smaller, so you can purchase in smaller units, or mix and match multiple beers in your fridge. Kegs also require clean draft equipment to dispense the beer, which makes it harder (but not impossible!) to take with you to the beach, a picnic, or your neighbor’s backyard BBQ. If you need recommendations on draft equipment, feel free to contact us and we’ll share our favorite options.
How Many Beers in a Keg?
So how many beers do you get when you buy a keg? Well it depends on which size kegs you buy and what size glass you use to pour your beer!
The most common measures people have in mind when they think of “a beer” are 12 fl oz or 16 fl oz. Beers have traditionally been packaged in 12 fl oz cans and bottles (though other sizes are available), while beers served on draft at a bar are often served as “pints” in 16 fl oz glasses, though again, individual bars may use other size glassware. If you use the 1L mug you bought at Oktoberfest, your keg will go quicker.
Kegs also come in several sizes, the two most popular (and the ones we offer) being the 1/2 bbl and the 1/6 bbl kegs. “Bbl” is the abbreviation for “barrel,” a unit of measure equal to 31 gallons, so a 1/2 bbl keg holds 15.5 gal. That 1/2 bbl keg is what most people think of as a “full size” keg. We also offer the smaller “sixtel” 1/6 bbl keg which, at only 5.17 gal, is a favorite for smaller bars and home kegerators.
Checkout the following chart for a quick comparison of the various formats:
Rental Program
So how do you get a keg from Watts Brewing? Just stop by the taproom and ask for one at the bar! Most beers we have on tap are also available for sale in kegs; you can find the current taplist here. Once you rent the keg, you have 3 months to finish the beer and return the keg or schedule pickup with a subsequent order. We don’t charge a keg deposit for renting our kegs—why take your money if we’re just going to give it back?—but we would appreciate it if you bring back the keg in the same shape you got it. If the keg gets lost or damaged, we’ll charge your card on file to replace it ($100).
If you have any more questions, feel free to ask! Just shoot us a quick message using our contact form and we’ll get back to you ASAP. If you want to stay in the loop on every beer release and get the first crack at new kegs, sign up for our email list at the bottom of the screen. We look forward to getting you beer in whichever format works best!