Traveling with Kegs

I am planning to have an oktoberfest party in the fall. We are trying to plan a weekend to have it and it looks like the people want to have the party at the in laws. The problem is I am the beer maker and they live an hour away. I would have the kegs all carbed up and ready to go but how do you think those kegs will do in the one hour trip? The beers are going to be an Oktoberfest, Hefe, and another couple German beers.

I always say, "Homebrew doesn't travel well", but I have transported a few kegs to a party or two in my day. I place the kegs in a large cooler and pack the bases with ice. I have a small pickup truck so I slide them in the back and roll out. Most recently, I had to put one in the wife's car, so i wrapped it in a large beach towel and placed it in the trunk. It was fine but we only drove about 15 minutes. You should be fine. Just get them on ice and let them rest for an hour before serving. PROST!

I think they will be fine during the 1 hour trip. It may also be a good idea to have them cold crashed and transfer them (except for the hefe) to another keg before you go. That way you leave behind any sediment.

Im about to travel with a couple of kegs too. Now its only a few minutes but ive learned that every time I move a keg it is not ready to drink right a way because the sediment is all stirred up. has anybody had any luck with this? I dont have any extra kegs so I cant really cold crash and transfer. The beers are still fermenting and Ive thought about filtering before kegging. Any thoughts? (beers are honey wheat and blonde ale)

I traveled a few hours with kegs. Just put them in the trunk gas line up and put stuff beside them so they dont roll around. Take them out when I get there and put them in a clean trash can with Ice and water and let them sit to settle down a bit and of course connect back to gas. Turned out fine for me everytime. Just think about all the people that connect CO2 and then shake the keg like crazy to get it to carb faster. Possibly same concept but mine are carbed prior to that. Just done really see how it hurts it much. Just needs to sit and mellow out a little.

NevermoreBrew said:

Im about to travel with a couple of kegs too. Now its only a few minutes but ive learned that every time I move a keg it is not ready to drink right a way because the sediment is all stirred up. has anybody had any luck with this? I dont have any extra kegs so I cant really cold crash and transfer. The beers are still fermenting and Ive thought about filtering before kegging. Any thoughts? (beers are honey wheat and blonde ale)

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Well unfortunately, the only other way I know to fix this is to filter, but that would cost at least as much as another used keg.

I transported 4 kegs over 5 hours in the back of an uncovered pickup truck. When I got to my destination they were still cold so I hooked them up to co2 and tap lines right away and we began drinking them. They all tasted great. The next morning they were still cold and by that evening they were still cold enough to drink. At no time did I put them on ice or in any kind of insulated container.

This past weekend I had two kegs that I drove about an hour away to a friend's party. After the party I left them in my car overnight and didn't unpack them until about noon the next day. They were still cold even when I unpacked them, so much so that I poured a pint to aid in my unpacking efforts. Again at no time did I add any ice to them.

I think that kegs have a couple of things going for them. For starters stainless steel does not conduct heat (or cold) very well. Also the kegs are sealed, so much like the coffee decanters with the pump tops that are sealed they retain their temperature for a long time.

I would just strap or bungie them so they don't fall over and then not worry about them too much.

Heck, I hauled a couple of kegs to Cincinatti in 2008 for the NHC (about 1000 miles to the conference).

Not only did they do very well in the travel, Ray Daniels came over to tell me he loved the IPA. So I'd say that's a pretty good recommendation on hauling kegs 1000 miles in June!

What I'd suggest though is just "jumping" the kegs to a new sanitized keg before moving it. The reason is I"d had to disturb all the sediment that would have settled out. It's easy to do. Once the keg is conditioned and pouring clear, keep it in the kegerator (don't move it!) and put on a "jumper cable". What I made is two black QDs and a length of beerline between them. Purge the keg, and reset at about 2 psi, or just enough to push the beer. Give the receiving keg a shot of co2 to purge out the o2 and pull the pressure relief valve. Then hook up the two black QDs to each of the keg "out" posts. Pull the pressure relief valve on the receiving keg frequently during the transfer to keep the beer flowing. That's it!

You'd be transferring under c02 so there would be no risk of oxidation. You'd leave all the sediment behind so it doesn't matter much if the kegs get moved around during the travel and set up, but it's always nice to have a bit of time to let them settle.