Renting corny kegs

[Cheesy_Goodness]

My sister is getting married in a year and I was thinking about offering to brew a few batches for the reception. Problem is, I don't have any kegs and don't have room to store/use them, so buying them is pretty much out of the question.

I'm not sure if there's an alternative, but if I were looking to rent a few empty corny kegs, where would be the best place to look?

 

[mkringii]

Make freinds with other local brewers and see if u can barrow or rent..

 

[zachattack]

I'd reach out to a local homebrew club, I bet you'll find someone with some extras. But the kegs are only part of the battle, there's also the CO2, lines, faucets, etc.

 

[mkringii]

Make freinds with other local brewers and see if u can barrow or rent..

Cause i have 20 empty ones and would let u borrow but to far away..

 

[kombat]

Find your local homebrew club and make some friends. Offer up a "beer-for-keg-loan" arrangement.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

Thanks for the replies all, I didn't even consider joining a homebrew club until now. It looks like one in my area meets about ten minutes from my house

I'd reach out to a local homebrew club, I bet you'll find someone with some extras. But the kegs are only part of the battle, there's also the CO2, lines, faucets, etc.

I'm not that worried about the CO2 (I'm sure I'd be able to borrow a tank from family), but I hadn't considered the rest. Would I need a faucet or could I make do with a picnic pump? Total newbie at this whole kegging thing.

Cause i have 20 empty ones and would let u borrow but to far away..

I might need to drive out to MI then

 

[zachattack]

You can make do with a picnic tap. You just want to make sure everything works OK so the guests aren't getting glasses of foam or yeast or anything like that. There's usually a good bit of troubleshooting and learning that most homebrewers have to go through when they first start kegging. Getting the right carb level, tracing down leaks, etc. Basically getting to know your system. You just want to make sure you get through that initial stage before the wedding! If you have a very good understanding of the principles and are familiar with all the plumbing and hardware, you should be all set.

I "cheated" a bit since I'm a research engineer and spend a lot of my time at work plumbing liquid and gas lines in similar setups, my system worked perfectly from the start. But most newbies aren't so lucky and have leaks, carbonation issues, foam problems, temperature issues, and other fun situations until they learn how everything works.

You'll still need a regulator, manifold, disconnects, all that jazz.

 

[shelly_belly]

You could buy some, use them then resell them. They're holding their value pretty well. Just consider the shipping costs as the rental fee.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

You can make do with a picnic tap. You just want to make sure everything works OK so the guests aren't getting glasses of foam or yeast or anything like that. There's usually a good bit of troubleshooting and learning that most homebrewers have to go through when they first start kegging. Getting the right carb level, tracing down leaks, etc. Basically getting to know your system. You just want to make sure you get through that initial stage before the wedding! If you have a very good understanding of the principles and are familiar with all the plumbing and hardware, you should be all set.

I "cheated" a bit since I'm a research engineer and spend a lot of my time at work plumbing liquid and gas lines in similar setups, my system worked perfectly from the start. But most newbies aren't so lucky and have leaks, carbonation issues, foam problems, temperature issues, and other fun situations until they learn how everything works.

You'll still need a regulator, manifold, disconnects, all that jazz.

Thanks for all the info. I have two family members that have a kegerator (not homebrew, they buy the beer and return the kegs when finished), so I'm hoping they can help. That said, I don't know jack about the difference between using a keg from a distributor and a corny keg with homebrew. Is there a difference?

You could buy some, use them then resell them. They're holding their value pretty well. Just consider the shipping costs as the rental fee.

There's a good thought. I might "not be able to find a buyer" and could be stuck with them...at least that's what I'd tell wife
It may come to that though. I guess I could work out something where my sister could pitch in for some if it ends up saving money on the wedding...I'll need to think on that.

On a similar note, how many gallons would I be looking at for about 200-250 people?

 

[zachattack]

The main differences: you'll be carbing the cornies yourself, and due to all the o-rings and the PRV there are many more places where a corny keg can leak. If you have some friends or family to help that regularly keg their homebrew you should be all set

edit: didn't read that closely enough, you actually don't have any friends that keg their homebrew. I'd try to find some or else invest in your own setup and familiarize yourself with it (keg and consume several batches) before the wedding.

 

[kombat]

On a similar note, how many gallons would I be looking at for about 200-250 people?

250 people??? Wow!

I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer, but I'm starting to think this is a bad idea. You're looking at brewing A LOT of beer.

250 people, assume half are too young, too old, designated drivers, whatever, and won't drink any. That leaves 125. Half of them won't like your beer and will reach for something "Cold Certified" instead. So maybe 60 people actually drinking your beer. They'll have maybe 4-5 pints each, which puts you at around 35 gallons of beer.

You mentioned that buying the kegs was "out of the question" due to both space and cost concerns. But if that's true, then how do you expect to be able to afford to brew and store 7 batches of beer? Do you have the refrigeration space required to cold-crash and force-carbonate 7 kegs' worth of beer? How will you plan the timing to have all 7 kegs ready and at peak flavour condition on the right date? What if one or two of the batches doesn't turn out as you'd hoped and has to be dumped (or, at least, not good enough to be served to guests)? Do you have a backup plan? Maybe brew a couple "extra" batches, just in case?

That's A LOT of beer, and a lot of pressure!

It's a very nice thought, I just think it's going to put an astronomical amount of stress on you during a period when you should be relaxing and celebrating a close sibling's milestone day.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Lets see how helpful I can be.

For how much beer to make, the below is about the 1/2 Barrel 15 gallon commercial kegs, but you can use this for reference.

Q. How many kegs will I need?
A. A rough guide is outlined below, however this depends on the amount of people drinking beer, or on how many of them drinking spirits and wines.

For Example:
Party with over 60 adults 1-2 kegs
Party with over 160 adults 3-4 kegs

Multiply by 3 for 5 gallon cornys.

Here is math for figuring out roughly what people will drink. Kinda useful. Adjust accoding to how big of drinkers your friends are.

You can manually calculate the alcohol you need:

Estimate how many people will be drinking at the event.
Multiply this # by 4 (although most people drink 2-3 drinks at a party, we estimated 4 drinks per person so that you won’t run out!) This tells you the total # of drinks you need.
Translate this drink # into the different kinds of drinks.
A can or bottle of beer provides 1 drink.
A 750ml bottle of wine provides 5 drinks.
A 750ml bottle of liquor provides about 12-15 drinks.
Finally, multiply those #’s by the preference percentages above (50% beer, 25% wine, & 25% spirits) and you a shopping breakdown of the alcohol you need to buy.
For example, a typical selection for a party of 100 people would be 400 standard drinks, distributed in this way:

200 – 12oz. bottles or cans of beer (200 drinks)
20 – 750ml bottles of wine (100 drinks)
7 – 750ml bottles of spirits (approx. 150 drinks.)

Additrionally if you borrow the kegerator(s)/CO2 tank, regulator, hoses and whatnot you can always ask them to save you empty keg shells to refill. Then after the party give the shell back to them (whatever beer is left they can have maybe?) for deposit return. Cheap way to do it. Plus most standard sankey kegs have the ring style closure which is pretty easy to get into and close up. See this thread for instructions on reinstalling the ring. The Miller kegs are far more difficult.

Just remember most commercial kegerators that your non homebrewing frinds probably have are not set up with the same type of connectors as corny kegs have. Most commercial systems are sankey where cornys are ball or pin lock. You would need to get some quick disconnects and make sure their systems are set up with quick disconnects or some such. Otherwise you may need to modify their systems and they might not like that. Just a thought.

 

[Magic8Ball]

That said, I don't know jack about the difference between using a keg from a distributor and a corny keg with homebrew. Is there a difference?

You have a problem. Sankey adaptors are a different animal than the Corny kegs with ball or pin lock adaptors. You need to know what the regulator and gas lines are on your buddies set up before you can buy an adaptor to make it work. AND you will need to identify the connector types of the corny kegs you will be using.

 

[strambo]

With a year to figure it out, just join the local brew club. By then you'll have all the knowledge and access to borrowed kegs and gear you need.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I've got a lot to think about.
Maybe I'll just offer to do the rehearsal dinner

 

[zman]

I did our friends wedding last year and I made 45 gallons(9 cornies). It was 70 people. I did not have the keezer I do now and naturally carbed all but 2 of them. 6 of them were 10 gal of 3 types. All were brewed as 5 gal. batches. I told them I needed 7 months notice of the styles they wanted. They only had my homebrew and some cases of wine for the adult beverages. I wound up building a 4 tap jockey box as well. Much better than picnic taps IMO.

So it is doable.

 

[Jon73]

I have to second kombat's opinion. My wife had a get-together and wanted to serve my beer and her wine as the drinks du jour. I brewed two 5 gallon batches on consecutive days, with 2 weeks notice, and I was pretty stressed over making sure everything was right and the beer would be what I hoped it would be. Even with a years notice, I can only imagine the stress involved at making enough beer for that many people with no room for storage and no equipment to take up the room for storage that you say you don't have. I wish you the best of luck, but I might start with something smaller.

 

[zman]

I have to second kombat's opinion. My wife had a get-together and wanted to serve my beer and her wine as the drinks du jour. I brewed two 5 gallon batches on consecutive days, with 2 weeks notice, and I was pretty stressed over making sure everything was right and the beer would be what I hoped it would be. Even with a years notice, I can only imagine the stress involved at making enough beer for that many people with no room for storage and no equipment to take up the room for storage that you say you don't have. I wish you the best of luck, but I might start with something smaller.

It is pretty stressful, even with the room for storage and having the ingredients in bulk and on hand. However, it was worth it when people are still telling me how awesome the beer tasted. Apparently the couple returned 2/3 of the wine because so few people drank wine.

 

[sybesbrew]

I brewed and bottled 35 gallons for my wedding for about 270 people. We supplemented with coors light and wine.

It was a lot of work and planning but ended up being a wild sucess. All the beers got rave reviews. The homebrew was gone in the first hour.

I did the same for a friends wedding a year later.

Kegging is nice, but it may be best to do what you know. I say start collecting bottles now.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

I brewed and bottled 35 gallons for my wedding for about 270 people. We supplemented with coors light and wine.

It was a lot of work and planning but ended up being a wild sucess. All the beers got rave reviews. The homebrew was gone in the first hour.

I did the same for a friends wedding a year later.

Kegging is nice, but it may be best to do what you know. I say start collecting bottles now.

Just out of curiosity, what did you do after the first hour? Did everyone just stick to Coors and wine or did you have another backup plan?

 

[sybesbrew]

Just out of curiosity, what did you do after the first hour? Did everyone just stick to Coors and wine or did you have another backup plan?

Yep. The plan was to run out. Everyone had a chance to get some good beer. If they really wanted to keep drinking, they had wine or coors.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

That's so simple but it never dawned on me to only have the good stuff flowing for some of the wedding. That'd be so much easier and would still likely save my sister some cash.
Cheers