Keg Ethics 101: Mr. Wizard
The wise one answers your homebrewing questions.
Dear Mr. Wizard,
I recently have acquired a keg from a buddy at work. I’m not sure where he got it, but I was wondering if I should pay a welder to cut the top off the keg or if I can do it myself? Also, to add a spigot, does that have to be welded on the keg or could I use something else instead of welding?
Jeremy Sherman
Sterling Heights, Michigan
Mr. Wizard Responds: Jeremy, this sort of question comes about once a year and when I answer I always “beat up” the questioner . . . so I hope you’re a good sport! Okay, just so I understand, your buddy at work found a “stray keg” that was abandoned at a party or behind some skanky bar and gave this keg a nice warm home in his basement. Now the keg has been donated to you since you are a homebrewer and can put this sad and lonely keg to good use. Is this a decent re-creation of the facts of how you got this keg?
The true owner of the keg does not really care where your friend got this keg. The owners really just want their property returned. Most keg owners do not camouflage their identity to confuse prospective keg users with questions about who really owns the keg, rather they stamp the brewery name on the perimeter of the top (called the chime). Sometimes they even paint their name on the side of the keg. Boulevard Brewing Company in Kansas City, Missouri, has clever stickers on their kegs asking customers to help return lost kegs to the brewery. These stickers also comically explain that keeping one of their kegs is theft.
The reality of kegs is that some are damaged to the point where they can no longer be used and are actually retired. For those readers interested in buying used kegs, start with your local craft brewer. This is a legal way of acquiring property. Many brewers, especially the larger guys who don’t sell their used stuff to individuals, sell used kegs to companies like Sabco (KEGS.COM, All about KEGS, All of the Time !) who recondition and resell them. Reconditioned kegs typically have the original owner’s name ground off of the chime, especially if they are resold to another brewery. Sabco even sells the parts required to convert a keg into a kettle, and actual keg-kettles.
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