Bringing keg to football game...have a few questions

[h22lude]

So I'm bringing a keg of my Oktoberfest to the Pats Cowboys game Sunday. I didn't feel like spending the money on another form of CO2 so I am going to bring my tank (I will be very careful with the reg). I did buy a picnic tap.

My questions are...

1) I have about 5 feet of beer line. Is this ok for a picnic tap? I will probably serve at a lower PSI. I just don't want a lot of foam each pour.

2) What do you guys recommend for keeping it cold? My friend has a round cooler that it will fit in but just barely and it will only cover the bottom half. This might work as the colder beer is on the bottom which is where the keg pulls from. I was also thinking of putting the keg in a trash bag and fill that with ice and then put that whole thing in a trash can. This way we can also put a trash bag in the trash can and use it for trash (two birds one stone).

3) I will obviously keep it upright during the commute. I'm really not too worried about sediment but is there anything I should do before tapping it?

Thanks guys

 

[burninmules]

I still use picnic taps at home and I have 5 or 6 ft of line. It works great for me. I would let the keg sit and settle a bit when you arrive. It may get sloshed around on the ride. Other than that, you seem to have a solid plan.

 

[h22lude]

Thanks. Just wanted to make sure I shouldn't go buy longer line. This is my first time using a picnic tap with homebrew.

Yeah I figure we would get it set up and let it settle for about 20 minutes when we get everything else ready.

 

[bbentley40]

I have used my 10 gallon rubbermaid cooler as a temporary keg chiller for a party before. Worked great. I just put the keg in there, put ice around it best I could then kept a couple towels over it to help hold the cold air in.

 

[allthingsgiant]

Get a cold plate / jockey box. You won't have to chill your keg, it works great. 5 feet of line is adequate.

 

[IrregularPulse]

You don't need a balanced system for serving. Use a 2-3' line to avoid excess, turn reg all the way down, vent co2. Open picnic tap and turn up pressure until it pours acceptably. (likely under 5 psi) You will not lose carbonation and have flat beer in this short time period. If you don't finish the keg, just turn the pressure back up when you get home. I'd just go for a cooler. You don't have to chill the whole keg. You're only drinking from the bottom.

 

[h22lude]

You don't need a balanced system for serving. Use a 2-3' line to avoid excess, turn reg all the way down, vent co2. Open picnic tap and turn up pressure until it pours acceptably. (likely under 5 psi) You will not lose carbonation and have flat beer in this short time period. If you don't finish the keg, just turn the pressure back up when you get home. I'd just go for a cooler. You don't have to chill the whole keg. You're only drinking from the bottom.

Exactly what I thought. Awesome!