What to do with an empty keg?

A friend at work gave me an empty 15 gallon sanke keg today. The obvious answer is 'fill that sucker up with beer!' But I don't have the equipment to do 15 gallons. Nor do I have the equipment to fill a sanke.

So I ask you, dear brewing friends. What projects or ideas come to mind?

New Boil Kettle or larger mash tun. Or an extra Hot liquid tank. Cut the top out and use it as a sanitizer tub too. A 15 gallon sanke is a nice thing to have and you can make an adapter to convert the fittings pretty cheap too. Have a look at building an adapter, the parts are all available at Bargain Fittings if you decide to go that way. Just thinkin out loud...
Wheelchair Bob

I've got 2 and I use them as fermenters. Many people cut the tops and use them as a keggle.

The easiest thing to do is simply remove the spear and use as a fermenter. That way your not permantly modifying it , and can take some time to think about what you need it for, and you can also fill it if needed (dual purpose).

Give it back to the brewery that owns it?

Markd27 said:

Give it back to the brewery that owns it?

Click to expand...

yeah this is a good idea. It belongs to the brewery. It's basically stolen property.

It depends on who it is from. I know stealing is stealing, but when I was in the hunt for a new BK and HLT (I ended up with concord pots), I called around to several breweries for decommissioned kegs.

The smaller ones recycle theirs, but when I called Yeungling to see if that had any they didn't use, the gentleman told me to buy a keg, drink the beer and then keep the bad boy and use it to homebrew- implying that they were not going to feel a few less kegs and further implying that using it to hombrew was a enough to make him not think twice about it.

The moral here? Send it back if it is a smaller operation- but keep it if it is one of the big guys with bad beer. (And to put your conscience at ease, call bud/miller/coors customer service and let the $9/hr rep tell you it's ok )

I'm not sure where the keg is from. It's in the back of muh vehicle and I won't be able to check it out close till I'm off work. But since y'all have stirred up my conscious, I'll be calling the brewery once the owner is identified.

I bought a keg of beer for a party once and upon returning it to the distributor, I got like $40 back. Am I wrong in thinking there is a 'purchase price' built into the rental of a keg?

Regardless of the merits of keeping or returning of a keg, thanks for the ideas!

The deposit doesn't cover the full cost of the keg. It's just so they are able to recoup some of the money in case it isn't returned.

Gotcha. Thanks.

A new Keg costs a brewery about $125, they should charge that much for the deposit but it would hurt their sales because nobody wants to plunk down close to $300 for a keg of beer. The $40 deposit is just a reminder that the keg is not yours to keep.

movet22 said:

The smaller ones recycle theirs, but when I called Yeungling to see if that had any they didn't use, the gentleman told me to buy a keg, drink the beer and then keep the bad boy and use it to homebrew- implying that they were not going to feel a few less kegs and further implying that using it to hombrew was a enough to make him not think twice about it.

Click to expand...

Wow, that is shocking. Thinking it's not really in that guys pay grade to make that call.

I'm sure some of these kegs are obtained legally, but I think the vast majority aren't. Seems a lot of them fall under the "I've had it for so long that they didn't want it back" category.

I originally wanted to use keggles, but could not find a source I was comfortable with. Recently someone posted a link to a retailer who sells them newish for about $140. I would have gone that route if I had known about it then.

It's a Coors company keg. And it had Killian's Red in it. And yes they want it back. Looks like I'm going to the distributor soon. Bummer.

707 said:

It's a Coors company keg. And it had Killian's Red in it. And yes they want it back. Looks like I'm going to the distributor soon. Bummer.

Click to expand...

Yea bummer, but good on ya for doing the right thing!

Good for you. Karma man.

Markd27 said:

Wow, that is shocking. Thinking it's not really in that guys pay grade to make that call.

I'm sure some of these kegs are obtained legally, but I think the vast majority aren't. Seems a lot of them fall under the "I've had it for so long that they didn't want it back" category.

I originally wanted to use keggles, but could not find a source I was comfortable with. Recently someone posted a link to a retailer who sells them newish for about $140. I would have gone that route if I had known about it then.

Click to expand...

Actually, the guy I spoke to at Ying was on the account team (you'd be shocked how easy it is to get a hold of semi-important people at Ying.) They also ran it by their superior before getting back to me (at least that is what the claim to have put me on hold for). Either way, If push came to shove, I wouldn't feel bad about keeping a keg from one of the big guys. Especially to use it for homebrew... you are essentially using it to increase the beer culture. I can rationalize that... in my own twisted way hahaha

I meet the guy who owns a local brewery, he told me he was a home brewer once. He said I could buy 1/6BBL for 50$ of APA, but I knew if I got that keg, I'd want to keep it. My point is, if your going to steal a keg make sure it's from BMC.

Stealing is stealing. Dont try to take a robin hood approach. If you believe its stealing, stealing from a large company doesnt make it any better.

But I don't feel bad about stealing from a large company and that makes me feel better. "robin hood" would give it to the poor, I want this for me.

Your logic is flawless

Haha. Thanks for the good vibes. Although this keg has spilled paint on it. Is covered in dust and dents and what-not. And the ticket shows 1997... It will return home to Golden, Colorado.

I told the rep what shape and how old the keg is. And dude didn't hesitate. He immediately said "you should take it to the local distributor."

(If I were to keep this keg.. I would probably take the spike out and ferment in it.)

or you could buy a new one....I believe stout tanks sells em. I know some of the local breweries here will sell their more "Used" ones cheaper to you, than new.

Took keg to the distributor yesterday. They gave me $10 for the return. Laughed at how old the tag stickers were. And I saw some dusty six pack on the floor. The sixers were $2.99 each so I got 3 of them. Ended up being $9.51 after tax. (Harpoon winter warmer. It's a couple months old, and I like my warmer lots better.. But not a bad beer.) So I'm happy with the outcome. Basically, got 18 beers for free.... Some halo polish.... And good ideas what to do with an empty keg once I have one that rightfully mine. Y'all take care. Thanks for the input!

There's a lot of people that think keeping a keg is wrong. Perhaps they have a point, but keep in mind, in this nation of laws, someone entered into a contractual agreement that had punitive penalties for not returning the item. If companies that engage in this business want to keep the "deposit" low enough to make it a "steal", that's their prerogative, and does not change your end of the bargain. In the end, if you truly have moral quandaries, you can ship it to...