People are always asking me to bring some of my homebrew to a party. And I’m happy to oblige.
Personally, I don’t want to bring bottles.
I have several 5-gallon corny kegs and a 5-pound CO2 tank.
I often use a tall upright plastic kitchen trashcan to hold the keg and 10-20 lbs of ice.
The QDs make quick work of hooking up the 5-pound CO2 tank and Cobra tap.
But, it is a lot of gear to bring. Sometimes I bring 10 gallons, and other times, I don’t necessarily want to bring all 5 gallons due to the size of the party. Sometimes, I want to be able to carry all the gear with just one trip from the car and/or offer more than one beer type. Keeping the keg in the trash can looks kinda redneck, especially for a great craft beer. So, aesthetics/classiness counts, too.
Are there any simpler systems that would work? What has your experience been with them? Here are some that I’ve been looking at online:
My solution is probably still a little “red neck” but it works really well. I cut a corny keg sized hole in the top of am Ice Cube cooler with wheels. All I need to carry in is the 2.5lb CO2 bottle, cobra tap and pull the cooler behind me. It keeps the keg ice cold for days (even in temps like we’ve been having this week) and fits right in with any other coolers that might be sitting there.
I have seen people do the same type of thing other coolers that can hold 2 kegs. People also use paintball CO2 bottles to make the outfits lighter.
I used to have a Party Tap and 5L kegs but they were too small for most parties and I’d have to haul in 2 or 3 anyway.
The tap-a-draft always seemed a little expensive to me. For $70 you could probably get a 2.5 or 3 gallon corny on e-bay, and they’re a bit more mobile than a 5 gallon.
I typically just bring growlers over to the neighbors. But if they run out, I can dash home across the street so it’s not that big of a deal.
Unless you’re willing to build something like a portable cart, your best bet just might be a rolling cooler.
Ain’t nothing wrong with a little redneck every now and then.
I did the trash can thing just this past weekend for our block party. I had it on a furniture dolly with the gas in a milk crate. Everything held together with bungee cords. It was redneck but effective.
I do exactly this, except with 9,7 litre kegs. They’re pricier, but really, really useful for smaller parties. Plus you can bring two different beers for the same weight as one 20-litre corny.
A three gallon keg and 5lb CO2 tank with regulator fit inside a 10 gallon round cooler (the ones many use for lauter tuns). Just drill a hole at the top and install a tap. Or… there is a cube shaped blue “52 can” cooler with a handle and wheels. I saw someone once who had two put two 3 gallon kegs and CO2 tank inside and installed a tap tower on the lid.
