How Much Beer Is In a Keg?

Whether you own a catering business or just opened your own brewery, you’ll want to know about the best way to give drinks to your customers and guests. Luckily, there are different keg types that can accommodate large quantities of beer, which is why they’re important tools to have when working with commercial beverages. In this article, we answer the question, “How much beer is in a keg?” while providing other details such as an empty keg weight, and full keg weight. 

What is a Keg? 

If you’re new to the brewing industry, you need to know that kegs are containers designed to serve and hold big quantities of beer and other carbonated or alcoholic beverages. These containers will often come in a cylindrical shape and are also available in various sizes. A lot of kegs are also pressurized to stop carbon dioxide from leaking and to keep the contents inside carbonated. 

Thanks to their portability and capacity, kegs can be used in a wide variety of applications and settings such as inside local bars, music festivals, and wedding receptions. 

What are the Different Types of Kegs?

As mentioned above, there are different keg styles available for you to choose from but keep in mind that the design of the keg should be chosen according to your needs. But no matter which option you pick, you can be sure that your favorite brews will be kept fresh. Below are some of the most common keg sizes and what they’re used for. 

Half Barrel Keg

Also known as a full keg, the half-barrel keg is among the most commonly used and widely distributed keg. This type of keg is the largest available and is a great choice for big-scale operations or events; it’s also compatible with most draft systems, so it can be easily integrated into your current setup. It comes with standard dimensions that allow you to seamlessly install and replace them as needed to ensure the smooth operation of your business. 

• Capacity: 15.5 gallons
• Amount of Pints: 124 pints 
• Amount of Bottles: 165 bottles 

Quarter Barrel Keg

The quarter barrel keg is also known as the stubby quarter keg or the pony keg and is a compact option designed for use when a full-sized keg isn’t needed. As such, they’re a great choice for smaller events or medium-sized businesses; one of the advantages of a quarter barrel keg is its small footprint. It comes with the same diameter as the half keg but is only half of the height, which makes it a lot easier to store and maneuver. 

• Capacity: 7.75 gallons
• Amount of Pints: 62 pints 
• Amount of Bottles: 82 bottles 

Slim Quarter Keg

A slim quarter keg offers a smaller footprint compared to the quarter barrel keg; it holds the same amount of beer as the option above, but it offers a solution that saves space for those working with less storage space. Among the main advantages of a slim quarter keg is how it can fit inside smaller kegerators or refrigerators, making it the perfect option for expanding on drink selections. Also known as a tall quarter keg, this has a diameter of diameter of 11 ⅛” and a height of 23 ⅜”.  

• Capacity: 7.75 gallons
• Amount of Pints: 62 pints 
• Amount of Bottles: 82 bottles

Sixth Barrel Keg

Thanks to its small footprint, the sixth barrel keg, or the log keg, is often used inside microbreweries. Their small size makes them the ideal choice for anyone who wants to serve a variety of beers without taking up a lot of space. Because they’re so compact, they can easily fit inside all kinds of kegerators. 

• Capacity: 5.2 gallons
• Amount of Pints: 41 pints 
• Amount of Bottles: 55 bottles

Cornelius Keg

First used in the soft drink industry, the Cornelius keg (also known as corny kegs), was quickly adopted in breweries around the world. It’s a popular choice for anyone who prefers to brew small quantities of beer while experimenting with various recipes. Because they don’t hold too much liquid, they can be handled and stored easily, making them a good choice for both commercial and personal uses. 

• Capacity: 5 gallons
• Amount of Pints: 40 pints 
• Amount of Bottles: 53 bottles

Mini Keg

If you’re looking for smaller kegs, then the mini keg might be the right choice for you; because of their compact size, they’re easy to transport and store. Also known as the bubba keg, it will often be used with mini kegerators and is usually present in homes or small parties instead of bottles or cans of beer. They are designed for one-time use inside mini kegerators and a 5-liter mini keg can hold 1.32 gallons of beer, which is around 10 and ½ 16oz pints of beer, or about 14 12-oz bottles of beer. 

• Capacity: 1.32 gallons
• Amount of Pints: 10 pints 
• Amount of Bottles: 14 bottles

What is a Sanke Keg?

Rather than the size of the keg, this term refers to the overall style of the keg. Most standard kegs, in general, are known as Sanke kegs; this is short for sanitary key and is made out of stainless steel. It’s used for distributing, dispensing, and storing commercial beer — unlike the kegs used by homebrewers, sanke kegs come with a single valve at the top that lets gas come in and beer get out.  

Beer Keg FAQs

Here, we share just a few of the most common questions that people have about kegs. 

How Long Do Kegs Last?  

Pasteurized draft beer is heated to eliminate yeast or bacteria and will typically last between 3 to 4 months inside your keg. However, unpasteurized draft beer will retain the live yeast, and will only last around 6 to 8 weeks, so proper storage will be the most important thing to help your beer last long. Your keg should also be kept refrigerated to keep the beer’s quality; leaving it around warm temperatures will only speed up its aging and result in stale and flat beer. 

What are Beer Kegs Made Out of? 

Among the most common materials used for making kegs are aluminum and stainless steel. 

• Aluminum Beer Kegs: This option helps to preserve the beer’s taste much better compared to other materials. These are also lighter compared to stainless steel kegs, which makes them easy to handle and transport. 
• Stainless Steel Beer Kegs: This option is known to be highly durable and features great insulating properties, so you can keep your beer cold for a longer period of time. 

How Much Does Beer Weigh? 

Because beer can come in all kinds of shapes, servings, and sizes, there’s no one answer to this question. Beer will commonly come in bottles, cans, cases, 6-packs, 12-packs, and inside different-sized kegs. Surprisingly, beer actually weighs close to the same amount as water per volume, so how much it weighs will depend on its volume and the weight of its container. 

For instance, an empty, full-sized keg that weighs 30 pounds and can hold up to 130 pounds of beer will have a full keg weight of 160 pounds.  

How Much Do Beer Kegs Weigh? 

As explained above, there are different sizes of kegs available, each of which comes with its own weight and size. 

• Half Barrel Kegs will weigh around 30 lbs when empty and 160 lbs when full
• Quarter Barrel Kegs will weigh around 19 lbs when empty and 90 lbs when full
• Sixth Barrel Kegs will weigh around 14 lbs when empty and 58 lbs when full 
• Cornelius Kegs will weigh around 10 lbs when empty and 50 lbs when full 
• Mini Kegs will weigh around 1 lb when empty and 13 lbs when full  

How Much Beer Can Breweries Produce?  

There tends to be a big variation in how much beer different breweries produce. For example, huge domestic breweries such as Budweiser have developed automated brewing systems that can produce hundreds of kegs in every batch. To be considered a craft brewery in the United States, it will need to produce around 186,000,000 US gallons of beer or around 6,000,000 beer barrels per year. 

A smaller subset of craft breweries known as microbreweries, should brew no more than 15,000 beer barrels per year, which is around 465,000 gallons of beer. However, microbreweries will still come in a wide range of BBL (brewer barrel), a unit of measure that represents 31 gallons of beer. Most microbreweries will range between 30 to 50 BBL but others will produce as little as 1 to 2 BBL. 

Conclusion 

Kegs are indispensable tools for anyone who plans to serve alcoholic beverages for their events or parties, as well as businesses that want to serve up all kinds of flavors to their customers. However, choosing the right size for your needs is just as important as the product that you plan to put inside. By picking the right keg size, you will always have enough beer and beverages to give to all your guests and will surely satisfy every customer.

Sources 

• webstaurantstore.com
• newyorkbeverage.com
• brewtogether.com