Having a party, want to offer a few, but not the whole keg!!

Hey,
This may or may not have been brought up before, tried to look and didnt find any threads, so here it goes..

We are having a party in a few days, and I am more than happy to share a few brews from my kegs, but I dont want people to think (there will be quite a few here) that they are fair game for the whole night... I know that sounds selfish, but I am trying to make some of this last!! The IPA i have is pretty damn good, and I dont want to find it empty the next time i want one haha...

anyone ever feel like this/have a good way of curbing it without sounding like a jerk? lol...

Transfer the beer from keg to growlers or pitchers and serve it to the guest that way.

in-law diptube:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/when-ok-ask-people-chip-ingredients-293450/index9.html#post3653570

TyTanium said:

in-law diptube:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/when-ok-ask-people-chip-ingredients-293450/index9.html#post3653570

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Wow! That is awesome!

Your way (growlers) is more honorable though

Love the concept of the in law dip tube.

Growlers would work well.

In-law dip tube.......still laughing!!

Im a big fan of the in-law diptube, but don’t really like the idea of buying and cutting a new diptube just to keep greedy paws off my brew.

Growler idea is nice, but if you have a kegerator people are going to want to drink off the tap, not pouring from growlers.

If I were in your situation (and I have been frequently) I would counter pressure bottle fill however many beers you want to keep for yourself and store them (away from any partygoers), then allow the animals to ‘kill the keg’. It’s always fun killing the keg! Then you have room to move another batch into that keg. And you will have your stash left over in the bottles.

Search for Biermuncher’s Counter Pressure Bottle Filler if you don’t already have one.

Challenge yourself to brew that IPA again

But that dip tube idea is a classic

I don't have in laws but sometimes my friends bring their friends who are more than welcome to a pint or two but once they have killed a sixer I pull out the PBR. most of the time they don't even notice haha.

peacenwaves said:

I dont want to find it empty the next time i want one haha...

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This will happen at some point. Just letting you know

Had a party last week, someone asked for a specific beer I had so I said they were in the basement too loud and I'm out of homebrew.

I took it as a compliment that I now have a ton of Bud Light, and also as a lesson learned

As long as my pipeline has another keg or carboy to fill the void I have no problem letting (even encouraging) friends kill a keg for me. I can't do it alone.
That said, I think hiding a few bottles away is a good idea too. Heck I should probably do that with every keg anyways so I have a liquid record of my past brews to enjoy much later.

We're having a BBQ this weekend, I love it when my friends and family drink all of my beer. It gives me an opportunity to brew again, I tend to develop a backlog (I only have 3 kegs) when we *don't* have people over. I'll save a couple of bottles for competitions or something, but other than that I let them have at it.

Man, beer is cheap and easy to make, friends aren't. Life is too short to be shorting your friends a couple of beers apiece. My friends know I brew, and brew well, and shouldn't be concerned about helping themselves. If you feel like people are taking advantage of you for your beer, that's a different issue.

If I found out a friend of mine was cutting diptubes so he didn't have to provide all the beer for a party he was throwing, I'd think twice before asking him for something I actually needed. Give away everything you make and be happier for it.

daksin said:

Man, beer is cheap and easy to make, friends aren't. Life is too short to be shorting your friends a couple of beers apiece. My friends know I brew, and brew well, and shouldn't be concerned about helping themselves. If you feel like people are taking advantage of you for your beer, that's a different issue.

If I found out a friend of mine was cutting diptubes so he didn't have to provide all the beer for a party he was throwing, I'd think twice before asking him for something I actually needed. Give away everything you make and be happier for it.

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What he said. Wise words.

daksin said:

Man, beer is cheap and easy to make, friends aren't. Life is too short to be shorting your friends a couple of beers apiece. My friends know I brew, and brew well, and shouldn't be concerned about helping themselves. If you feel like people are taking advantage of you for your beer, that's a different issue.

If I found out a friend of mine was cutting diptubes so he didn't have to provide all the beer for a party he was throwing, I'd think twice before asking him for something I actually needed. Give away everything you make and be happier for it.

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That’s why its called the “in-law” diptube. Order of magnitude difference from friends!

I agree with the men above. I feel Honored every time my friends ask for one of my beers. I've even tried a few times when I know I'm getting low to hand them something that someone has left at my house, they usually assume I'm out and ask what I got brewing next. When my friends stop asking for my beer and start asking for other stuff I think I will know I gotta step it up.

In short, think of it as a great honor and an amazing conversation piece.

Yep, I'd agree, and feel if you make the offer of your tapped beer, you should be prepared to have it drunk, all or part, as your guests choose. Otherwise just don't make it available.

if you have a spare keg transfer 1/2 of it over

depending on the party it could be some random people not just friends - doesn't mean the guy is stingy or doesn't want to share

I love brewing beer. I have three taps and there is no way I can drink 15 gallons of beer myself. Last weekend I had a new keg I wanted to tap so I threw a " kill the keg" party. Bunch of guys came over after work and took out that keg and a good portion of another one. It's a nice compliment and fun to get feedback. Plus I get to brew more!

Also, check craigs list for 3 gallon kegs. Those are great for parties and fit perfectly in a 5 gallon igloo cooler. Just do a keg to keg transfer and let them have at the 3 gallon.

Hey,

Thanks for all of the replies!! Love the diptube, thats pretty funny!! I think bottling is a great idea, and I did make the biermuncher bottle filler, works like a champ!

definitely not trying to be stingy, i love sharing with my friends, but this event will be full of people I dont know/ girlfriends friends, so i just dont to (like someone mentioned earlier) have the kegs taken advantage of...

i bought my fridge used from CL, and it has a lock on it, but didnt come with a key... i messed with it yesterday and found that a screwdriver does the trick to lock it... so i think I will bottle a set amount to hand out, and then just lock the rest up for safe keeping...

depending on how buzzed I am it may or may not be opened back up later haha

born3z said:

I love brewing beer. I have three taps and there is no way I can drink 15 gallons of beer myself. Last weekend I had a new keg I wanted to tap so I threw a " kill the keg" party. Bunch of guys came over after work and took out that keg and a good portion of another one. It's a nice compliment and fun to get feedback. Plus I get to brew more!

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This! Funny enough I did the same last Friday. Now I have kegs to fill and lots of brewing to do!

I like it when people drink my beer. I just hate to see it go to waste. I would be more concerned about BMC drinkers giving it a try, not liking it and wasting a whole pint.

I'd make sure that I had a lot of small glasses available.

I also don't understand this mentality. You can make more. Share it. But I think the best way to operate if you don't want to have the keg kicked is to have plenty of commercial beer and operate the homebrew as a tasting station with small taster glasses. Serve it yourself so that you can receive the compliments and answer questions. You might even find your next brew buddy.

I think you'd best start brewing right now so you've got something ready to transfer into that keg soon!

I usually don't have this problem, as I regularly brew WAY more than I can drink. It's a lot easier not to worry about someone killing your keg if you've got a huge stash of beer on hand already

CGVT said:

I like it when people drink my beer. I just hate to see it go to waste. I would be more concerned about BMC drinkers giving it a try, not liking it and wasting a whole pint.

I'd make sure that I had a lot of small glasses available.

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That's what is good about a kegerator, the BMC drinkers can pour a small taste instead of opening a whole bottle

I moved my kegorator so that casual guests don't really have access to it. When I have people over, I always do the pouring so that I have control over the whole issue. My reason for this has nothing to do with stinginess or fear of running out of beer, because I'll only cut people off if we literally run out or they get too drunk.

My reason is respect. I was taught to respect other people's property. I don't go in other people's fridges. I ask to use the bathroom in other people's homes. I won't pick something up in another's home unless its a part of what we are talking about/doing, etc...

So while I have no real issue with a friend killing a keg, I do take issue with people who act as if they own things in my home.

Airborneguy said:

So while I have no real issue with a friend killing a keg, I do take issue with people who act as if they own things in my home.

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exactly... i just dont want people (esp those i dont really know) to think that just because i make beer, its a free for all to take whatever they want...

there are a few folks that come to our bbqs (which are almost always potluck style) that never bring anything and it gets old after a while... i guess we are just too nice to tell them not to come or make them bring something to add to the party haha...

peacenwaves said:

i guess we are just too nice to tell them not to come or make them bring something to add to the party haha...

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This is something I'm getting over myself. I figure by the time you're in your thirties (most of our crowd) you should know common courtesies. If you don't, I'll bluntly but not unkindly point that out. If you still don't up your game, you don't get anymore invites. Life & beer are too short to suffer rudeness in your own home.

Airborneguy said:

I moved my kegorator so that casual guests don't really have access to it. When I have people over, I always do the pouring so that I have control over the whole issue. My reason for this has nothing to do with stinginess or fear of running out of beer, because I'll only cut people off if we literally run out or they get too drunk.

My reason is respect. I was taught to respect other people's property. I don't go in other people's fridges. I ask to use the bathroom in other people's homes. I won't pick something up in another's home unless its a part of what we are talking about/doing, etc...

So while I have no real issue with a friend killing a keg, I do take issue with people who act as if they own things in my home.

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Generally I agree with you... But when it comes to the beer, I explicitly tell guests when they arrive: "I'm a ****ty host, and if your glass is empty, feel free to fill it yourself. If you're waiting on me, it might be empty a while."

I don't like it when people walk into someones house like they own it, but I don't have time to notice when everyone's glass is empty, nor do I want them to feel burdened by asking me for a refill.

We just tend to assume that people will drink our beer if its around and as a result we generally only invite courteous guests. Most of them bring a snack or wine or throw parties themselves so it all comes out a wash in the end.

In fact around swmbo and my birthday I typically brew 10 gal of whatever im feeling and invite 20 or so people over. This year we had bratts and home made soft pretzels. We had a blast which more than makes up for the expense.

I haven't had any parties since I started brewing. But, I think it would be cheaper to serve my guests homebrew than commercial beer. My latest batch was a 1.068, 7+% ABV IPA. The ingredients cost me $32, and I don't buy in bulk. That's less than 65 cents per 12oz, not including costs of equipment, propane, sanitizer, etc., which are pretty negligible when broken down to cost per beer. I also tend to consider the equipment and other costs as going towards my hobby and not a consumable product.

We have people over just about every weekend and they are all great about consuming my crappy beer. I let them drink as much as they like. The more they drink the more I know they like it. A few of them usually bring a couple of Micro brews to leave here for me to have so I have something different. I have a nice pipeline going now but felt your pain in the beginning. The first keg went so fast I was a little ticked off. Then I thought about it and felt good that they liked my beer more then the store bought stuff. I have fun brewing and the kids have fun brewing I learned to embrace the fact my kegs go quick. On a side note more then one has left money on the counter for ingredients....which is very cool of them. They understand its not free beer and a lot of work goes into it. If my 5 year plan works out then I hope they will come to the brewery and pay for it. On a side note I do have about 20 extra dip tubes...the in law tube is a great idea.