Teenagers in house - how to secure kegs?

[ahaley]

Dear OP; before I forget, I have some serious suggestions and some sarcastic ones which I will clearly label to avoid confusion.

Serious: If you're tall, or have a step ladder, drill a "shed" type lock where you can add a padlock, and put it on top of the fridge if or once you have one.
Ask a bar how they do it, the scales previously mentioned sounds like a great idea.

Now for the sarcastic one.
Buy an electric fence and set it to "bear" after wrapping up your keg in rubber / insulator so you don't electrify it ( also I think if you were to do that the electricity would add anions to the kegs and then to the beer and give it a negative charge?? Im no chemist but it's a thought that electrifying it could ruin the flavor, or make it great who knows! )
Good luck!

 

[ndsgr]

Tell them you dipped your sack in one of the kegs.

I guess it would depend on your personality whether on not they believe you. My kids would be very unsure...

 

[bumstigedy]

A lot of interesting information here. I have 9 years until my oldest is a teenager, so hopefully y'all will have figured all this out by then and posted a sticky that I can read

 

[bgeek]

I was thinking of using a webcam when my kids grow up. I'll let them know it's there and that they can have a little bit if they ask, but if I catch them sneaking or obstructing the camera, there will be hell to pay. Make your own damn beer, kids.

 

[jkendrick]

A lot of interesting information here. I have 9 years until my oldest is a teenager, so hopefully y'all will have figured all this out by then and posted a sticky that I can read

We're expecting our first (twin boys) in September, so I'll echo this sentiment.

 

[rico567]

If I had had to lock up my beer when we were raising kids, I'd have given up one or the other.

Jokes aside, the issue is how the kids are raised, not whether or not the alcohol is locked up.

 

[sudsmcgee]

Illinois allows you to serve alcohol to your kids in your home.

My elder son has no interest in alcohol whatsoever. My younger son likes to sample my home brews. He doesn't really like any of them, but he still likes to try a few sips of each of them.

Are you sure about that? I've lived here my whole life and never heard or read that.

 

[aubiecat]

Are you sure about that? I've lived here my whole life and never heard or read that.

http://drinkingage.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=002591

 

[opus345]

Ohh somebody is a little butt hurt about last week. Interesting, there is a hbs in montgomery, mr beer kits at publix in dothan, but a felony if you use them. On topic, educate. Our hb club leader said "our kids sampled liquor when we drank at home and do you know what they became in college? DDs" my parents locked the alcohol up and never really drank in in front of me. I didnt drink much in hs but spent my first year in college at the bars, almost kicked out.

Also.there are faucet lockes to keep the neighborhood riff raff out.

I live in Nebraska, but the Alabama drama was like a bad Lifetime movie with the bad legislative actors and a sexy homebrew star. You knew it was going to be a train wreck, but you had to watch until the end.

I agree about the educate and the comments on maturity. The boy has finished his second year of college and I didn't need to go get him out of jail. A friend, years ago, gave me great advice. Don't let the kids go to college so far away that it takes a plane ride to get em out of jail.

 

[sudsmcgee]

Cool. I never knew that.

 

[dford]

i live in nebraska, but the alabama drama was like a bad lifetime movie with the bad legislative actors and a sexy homebrew star. You knew it was going to be a train wreck, but you had to watch until the end

roflmao !!!

 

[Han_Solo]

If your kid wants to get at your beer they're gonna find a way. While I don't condone underage drinking, I think it is useless worrying about it since they are going to get at yours or someone elses one way or another.

Just hope that they respect you enough to steer clear of your beer and, if they do decide to experiment, hope that they aren't one of the bad seeds who abuse it and use it excessively.

 

[Vernacular]

Pinch off the hose INSIDE the fridge (inline valves are available too) and lock it up.

 

[Chia]

my kids go with me on brewery tours, have helped to plant a friends vineyard for his winery, and help me brew. they taste the wort before yeast is added, and never once have they liked it, or asked to taste the finished product. I do not allow them to drink soda, and IMHO would rather them drink a beer with dinner at the age of 15 than soda. I am a firm believer that small beer, or very low abv beer is not Bad for Them. I do not want them to get to high school or college and loose there damn minds over bud light, but want them to see what it is and how it is made. if they choose to drink once they are out of the house, i really cannot stop them. However, I do not have let them while they are here. there is a fine line that must be crossed for every parent, and happen to like my approach.

 

[Chia]

Europe as a continent has the highest average consumption of alchohol. 3 gallons per person compared to the US 2 gallons

Ok, Who only drinks 3 gallons of beer? I mean come on! I can do that in a week, by only having a few glasses a night!

 

[Raenon]

Ok, Who only drinks 3 gallons of beer? I mean come on! I can do that in a week, by only having a few glasses a night!

This is my point, the previous poster used the 3 gallon figure as if that was proof of problem drinking all by itself.
Of course that's an average, but that means for every one drinker like me, more than 20 people wouldn't have a drop.
That's just me averaging a bit over a pint a day.

 

[KuntzBrewing]

Make RIS, IPAs, Sours, (you get the picture) I'm sure that a teenage wouldn't drink any of those lmao,

 

[Calichusetts]

Ok, Who only drinks 3 gallons of beer? I mean come on! I can do that in a week, by only having a few glasses a night!

That IS per week. I was just trying to point out that the whole "introduce it early like the responsible Europeans do" is a myth...Europe has massive problems with drinking. People are going to do what people want to do, parents and teenagers alike, so this thread is a little strange IMO. Unless there is some top-tier adolescent psychologist homebrewer on here.

FWIW, I've never seen my parents drunk or even drink really and I was running amok before high school. They used to give me the "just call me if you need a ride" talk and I still got into drinking throughout high school. It was my brother that I really listened to and looked up too...keep that in mind all you parents with multiple children. Its almost always the peers and not the parents they take cues from!

 

[ajlee]

If your kid wants to get at your beer they're gonna find a way. While I don't condone underage drinking, I think it is useless worrying about it since they are going to get at yours or someone elses one way or another.

I'm sorry, but while I agree that they will find it if they really want to, it doesn't mean he has to make it easy for them.

 

[Homercidal]

Load up a keg with lots of yeast in the beer. Then wait to see who has the bad gas problem!

 

[Fennis]

If I had had to lock up my beer when we were raising kids, I'd have given up one or the other.

Jokes aside, the issue is how the kids are raised, not whether or not the alcohol is locked up.

I completely agree with you, but honestly, my concern wouldn't be my own, it would be their friends. You can raise your kid perfectly and try to guide them towards making good decisions, but all it takes is one determined friend, and they will help themselves to your beer if its not locked up.

 

[landshark]

One of the hardest things to do is be a parent and not a friend to those you value most. The drinking in the home issue is one best left in the home for each individual set of parents to decide.

Legally.......not a good idea.

In Missouri, it is legal for a parent to serve alcohol to their own children/kids. We celebrate a few liberal laws here due to AB pushing the legislature in Jefferson City. So I can't hate on AB too much. Similar to we have no open container law.

 

[buzzkill]

I have two girls,and at some point I will get them **** faced drunk. I want them to know the effects before they go to that fist party. and pass out with a bunch of dumb ass teen boys that I would have to hunt down and shoot. lets face it,telling kids Alcohol is bad while drinking a beer is just going make us look like hypocrites.


I grew up in a house where alcohol was evil. so I ended up getting wasted more than most kids.

and I will have a padlock on my keezer.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

I have two girls,and at some point I will get them **** faced drunk. I want them to know the effects before they go to that fist party. and pass out with a bunch of dumb ass teen boys that I would have to hunt down and shoot. lets face it,telling kids Alcohol is bad while drinking a beer is just going make us look like hypocrites.


I grew up in a house where alcohol was evil. so I ended up getting wasted more than most kids.

and I will have a padlock on my keezer.

I have taken a lot of flak for talking about children in the past since I dont have any... but might I suggest that you start now in steering them away from fist parties? I stopped going years ago and I STILL walk funny.

 

[zeg]

lets face it,telling kids Alcohol is bad while drinking a beer is just going make us look like hypocrites.

That's correct, and I would never tell my kids alcohol is bad. It's not.

There are (obviously) many different approaches to helping your kids make the right decisions, but the decisions are theirs. None of these approaches---policing, sharing, lecturing, locking, etc, is a magic bullet. Some kids who have been shielded from alcohol entirely go out and hurt themselves drinking, just like some kids who have been allowed to drink at home regularly do.

You've got to know your own kids and use your own judgement. Indiana is one of the few states that denies parents the rights to do that, but even if I lived in another state, I haven't decided how I'd approach this when the time comes. The one thing I know I'm not going to do is lie to my kids about the dangers or benefits.

It's the same with drugs, sex, etc. I want them to be informed and I want them to know they can trust me. I'll do my best to start them on the right course and give them the tools and information they need to make smart decisions, but the fact is that I won't be there for every choice they have to make.

 

[MR2Aaron]

Normally with beer you can tell if sneaky teens are doing away with them because they disappear from the fridge, but with kegs in a fridge it's not as easy to notice a few missing here or there. We have kids in the house that are fast approaching high school which will inevitably mean a curioisty in alcohol. Other than just lecturing them on the repercussions of drinking, is there a way to keep the suds safe from curious tastebuds? Is there any way to employ a lock or something on a keg fridge? SInce I dont even have a fridge yet I figured I would seek some answers to steer me in the right direction before I go out and buy anything. I may end up with just plain old picnic taps so everything could be contained within the fridge itself. I'm thinking maybe I could bolt on a couple of hasps with a padlock. If anyone has experience with this kind of thing I would love the input.

Lock the fridge and disconnect the tap from the keg inside.

If they have access to the fridge, all they'd have to do is get a party tap and stick it on the keg if they were really curious, even if you did install locks on the tap handles.

Regardless, I think the answer here is to let them have a little of the beer sometimes. Tell them they can't drink it when you're not around, but make it so that drinking it when you are around is not always out of the question.

If you concerned about their friends, you might consider having a barbecue where the parents are invited, and serve the beer there. Offer to let the friends try it if their parents agree, thus dispelling the mystery.

This would have worked on me when I was a teenager, although I was a soda man until I turned 25 or so.