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Need a keg for a party 25.04.2015 is this realistic? never keged before.

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ChefK

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Hi guys.

My sister is going to have her big 18th birthday party soon. I will fly down to celebrate with her. Now I wondered. It would be awesome to bring a keg. But I know that time I'd running out on me. Should I proceed?

Some questions I have about the whole keg thing.

- what conditions faster, a bottle or a keg?
- are kegs secure to fly with?
- how fast does a keg have to be emptied once tapped?
- how cold should it be when force carbonating?

Well that should be it for now, it will probably be way cheaper to buy a keg with commercial brew but I m just wondering for the fun of it.

Regards
 
- what conditions faster, a bottle or a keg?
Definitely a keg. You can force carb at high pressure and do it in a few days. I prefer to "set it and forget it" which takes about a week.

- are kegs secure to fly with?
I have no idea. I wouldn't try to carry it on! :eek: Better call the airline and ask how that can work.
- how fast does a keg have to be emptied once tapped?
There is no time limit. I've had beers be great for months on tap. As long as you have CO2 hooked up to keep pressure it will last indefinitely. Only the aging of the beer will affect it.

- how cold should it be when force carbonating?
Cold. You can look up a pressure/carbing chart to get the ratios. But the colder it is the lower the pressure you need to get your desired carb level. You will want it chilled to carbonate and serve.

Another thing to be aware of. There is often some sediment that settles out of a beer in a keg. This settles to the bottom and just sits there if left alone. However, if you are going to move the get around it will all stir up again. You either need to plan some days for it to re-settle or consider filtering the beer. I've never done it, but Tasty McD. did a good explanation of it on the Brewing Network.

Good luck. Let us know how it turns out!
 
I would drive. There's no way I'd trust a full keg in luggage. Not to mention, that volume of alcohol may not be allowed so definitely call the airline.

You will be the best big brother ever when you supply gallons of beer to 18 year olds.
 
Personally I wouldn't bother with the airline. If you packaged it securely you could probably get away with taking on the plane and paying for extra luggage.

Ship it full UPS. If it's sealed correctly it will be fine.
 
I'm hoping from his use of the metric system in other threads and his obviously laughably wrong way of writing dates ;). He's not from the U.S. And can drink at 18.
 
I'll answer the questions in the OP's post one at a time.

Is it a good idea to bring a keg of beer to an 18 year old's birthday party? No. Even if it's legal in the jurisdiction in question, the person most likely has a very poor ability to regulate their alcohol intake and will in all likelihood end up embarrassing (or even injuring) themselves. And how much do 18 year old girls like beer anyway? Not very much. This is nothing more than a vanity play on the OP's part, an excuse for him to point to the keg and say, "Look what I made!" This day is not about you. It's about your sister.

Is it a good idea to transport alcohol across state/provincial/international borders? No. It's actually illegal.

Is it a good idea to bring a keg with me on a plane? No, for many reasons. You obviously cannot bring it on the plane with you as a carry-on (Liquids of more than 4 oz are prohibited, and it's both too big and too heavy to fit in the overhead bin). So you'd have to check it. That means a $25 checked-bag fee. Also the TSA forbids many different types of cargo, including pressurized liquids, so this is probably a moot point. But even if they took it, you risk someone losing or damaging your keg. What if someone bumps a poppett and sprays beer in the baggage handling area? What if it shifts during turbulence and gets punctured, spraying beer all over the inside of the baggage compartment of the plane, damaging (at best) other baggage, or (at worst) sensitive avionics? If your keg bursts in the cargo hold, do they tase you immediately, or wait until they make the emergency landing and arrest you?

How would you serve the beer once you got it there? You'd have to bring a CO2 tank, and good luck getting THAT on a plane. How will you get the keg back home? Pay another $25 checked-bag fee? Now you're in for $50 just in baggage fees, assuming everything else goes smoothly. It's not cost-effective.

What if the beer is bad? You could be turning a bunch of new drinkers off of craft/homebrewed beer, doing damage it will take years to undo.

Is it a good idea to try my hand at kegging for the first time, for a teenager who probably won't even drink it? No. You've never kegged before, and want to start with a rushed batch and myriad unknown legal complications?

Is it possible to produce a decent batch of beer in 5 weeks? Yes. That's more than enough time to brew a nice, moderate-gravity pale ale.


  • Days 1 - 14: Primary ferment
  • Day 15: Rack to keg, cold crash under 10 psi CO2 pressure
  • Days 16 - 20: Fine with gelatin under 10 psi CO2 pressure
  • Days 21: Draw off first pint or two of cloudy beer. Then rack to a fresh keg, pushing it with CO2 and using a beverage-to-beverage keg "jumper," optionally through a 1-micron filter.
  • Days 22 - 35: Keep keg in fridge under 12 psi CO2 pressure to finish carbonating

And that's without cutting any corners. Heck, I bet I could turn around a fully-carbonated, clear keg of beer in 2 weeks if I really had to. Hmm... that sounds like an interesting experiment/challenge. :)


  • Days 1 - 7: Primary ferment at 65° F
  • Days 8 - 12: Bump temperature up to 70° F to finish
  • Day 13: Rack beer to keg, then push through 1-micron filter into a second keg. Put keg in fridge on 12 psi CO2.
  • Day 14: Shake cold keg at 12 psi until desired carbonation level is reached.


Voila! Cold, crystal-clear, fully-carbonated beer.
 
You're going to Mexico right?

Not Mexico but Germany :) I am in Norway atm.

I would drive. There's no way I'd trust a full keg in luggage. Not to mention, that volume of alcohol may not be allowed so definitely call the airline.

You will be the best big brother ever when you supply gallons of beer to 18 year olds.

Yes it be awesome I will anyway get a keg but would love to make one myself.
 
In America, the drinking age is 21, and it is illegal to provide alcohol to people under 21. Dumb rule, but pretty strictly enforced.
Sooooo, someone asking the quickest was to get a keg to throw beer at a bunch of 18 year old girls is a bad idea. or a great idea. I don't know. I go back and forth right now.
 
Is it a good idea to transport alcohol across state/provincial/international borders? No. It's actually illegal.

It got a bit late today so i do not really have the time to get into a detailed answer on this, but I just wanted to mention, I live in Europe and here it actually is not illegal according to the Airline.

The only thing I even have to think about is the tax free import quota. Which to germany from a non EU contry is 16liters, everything above that is regulated by Taxes and duties.
 
In America, the drinking age is 21, and it is illegal to provide alcohol to people under 21. Dumb rule, but pretty strictly enforced.
Sooooo, someone asking the quickest was to get a keg to throw beer at a bunch of 18 year old girls is a bad idea. or a great idea. I don't know. I go back and forth right now.

In Germany the drinking age for beer is 16 :p (yay Germany) everything stronger is 18. That is why 18th birthday is celebrated big. Thats why a party and that is why a Keg ;)

No troubles I did not mean to offend or get advice on how to commit a crime.
 
I think that's a wonderful gift. You can easily make that date as long as you brew a beer that doesn't require much aging. And if you are able to get the keg from Norway to Germany, I'm sure you can rent a co2 tank locally.
 
Thank you Chawn. I will take a look at the local brew-hardwarestore, tomorrow. I like gifting homemade stuff and people tend to like it.

Any suggestions for a mild/light and simple beer?
 
Thank you Chawn. I will take a look at the local brew-hardwarestore, tomorrow. I like gifting homemade stuff and people tend to like it.

Any suggestions for a mild/light and simple beer?

Extract or all-grain?
 
All-grain would be nice but as of now I am to scared of it. So extract would be nice.
 
I honestly think it's not worth the effort to fly a keg. You'll have to check the keg (maybe extra fees due to weight, and extra fees for taxes apparently), you'll have to find a local source of CO2 (flying high pressure gas is a no-go I'm guessing), and then once you land you'll have to be able to chill and carb it for a few days minimum. If you have that kind of time on your hands, and you trust airline handlers not to mess with a full keg (I wouldn't), by all means do it.

I'd just spend approximately the same amount of money (with much less effort/risk) to buy a local keg and celebrate with your sister's friends... I mean with your sister.
 
All-grain would be nice but as of now I am to scared of it. So extract would be nice.
There's no reason to be afraid of all-grain, but I'll see if I can make a conversion.

The beer I have in mind can be ready to drink in 2 weeks. So it could be carbonated prior to leaving.
 
I'd skip the keg entirely, due to airline travel. You can't force carb the keg prior to leaving (pressurized vessel). You can't bring a CO2 tank. You will likely pay so many fees that you could just as easily buy a keg of commercial brew in Germany.

I totally get wanting to bring homebrew though. I would brew up a wheat (very quick turnaround, tastes best when fresh). 2 weeks ferment, 2 weeks to carb, ship it to your location, then fridge time for whatever time is left (3 days min would be best). Cream ale, blonde ale, Belgian Patersbier, Pale ale, Irish red are some other examples of quick turnaround (2 weeks ferment). Pitch plenty of yeast so its a quicker ferment with less byproducts to clean up.

I would skip bottling in glass, as you never know about breakage during shipment. I would bottle in 1, 2, or 3L plastic PET bottles. Super easy IMO. This way you can board the plane with no worries and your beer should already be in the fridge when you arrive.
 
Is it a good idea to transport alcohol across state/provincial/international borders? No. It's actually illegal.

...but I just wanted to mention, I live in Europe and here it actually is not illegal according to the Airline.

It is actually perfectly legal to transport alcohol into and out of the US also. There are limits on quantity, however. I have brought legal quantities of liquor and beer into the US, and disclosed it to customs, even been searched by customs, without any hassle.

More info HERE.
 
^Yes. There exists an entire industry of airport duty free shops selling booze and cigarettes. And chocolate.

I usually exceeded my limits when coming back from Russia every time and no hassles...
 
As a counterpoint, it's illegal to transport alcohol across provincial borders in Canada (without a permit, of course). I assumed at least some states had similar prohibitions.
 
Why not make something special for your sister and bottle it? Then it's special instead of something the party-goers will waste anyway. Bottle it in pints or 22oz bombers (not sure what you'd call those in metric). You'd still have to check it rather than carry it on.

But I have flown lots of time with bottled beer in my checked luggage. I usually wrap the bottles in paper towels, put them in a ziploc bag, then wrap those with clothes and stuff them together so nothing moves around. I don't trust the baggage handlers to be careful, but I've never had a problem!
 
As a counterpoint, it's illegal to transport alcohol across provincial borders in Canada (without a permit, of course). I assumed at least some states had similar prohibitions.

You are correct. Not sure which states have which laws, but in fact I live in a state where it is illegal to bring in alcohol from a neighboring state (without prior permission from the state), but it is legal to bring it in from another country. Go figure.
 
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