How many kegs for 400 people

[I H8 UM]

We are a new brewpub. We have a customer who has an outside catering event that will have 400 attendees in June. They are asking for 4-6 1/2 bbl kegs. Can anyone provide some insight as to if that is enough kegs or too many kegs? We have only sold 1/4 bbl kegs to the public so far. We will probably server Irish Red and Pale Ale.

Thanks,

Rich

[Ken_H]

Depends on a bunch of factors.

How long is the event?
What is the demographic of the event?
What is the pour size?

Basically, you need to get to the point where you can guess the number of "drinks per person per hour" on average. Then with the number of peeps and the time, you're golden. There is no one answer. Its a forecast with independent variables.

Cheers.

[einhorn]

Ken is right - lots of factors. Also important to know is, will they serve wine, coffee, water, cocktails, etc and also the time involved.

If we were to assume a normal event where caterer supplies other ebeverages including wine, if you were to ask me, if they go through 2 kegs of beer, that would be a lot. Even one keg might be too much. People tend to overestimate consumption and underestimate how much is actually in a 15.5 gallon keg.

[obvance]

Having done alot of this I found that if wine/ drinks are also served 1 keg per 100 people
Beer only - 6 kegs for 400 is a safe bet.

[einhorn]

Having done alot of this I found that if wine/ drinks are also served 1 keg per 100 people
Beer only - 6 kegs for 400 is a safe bet.

That's about 2 pints of beer per person. Once again, depending on the type of event, what else is being served and how long it goes, I calculate .5 pints per person.

[Fullcourt]

OTHER FACTORS

weather - too hot can actually reduce beer consumption.
cost - are they giving away the beer or are people paying for each beer, or is it one price gets you all the beer you can drink.
I agree that the biggest factor is what other beverages are being served.

[BrewinLou]

Rough estimate rule of thumb.
One beverage per person per hour.

If you have liquor, wine, and beer divide by three to get the number of each. Those that do not drink are made up for by those that like to a lot.

Like was said, you know your demographic make adjustments.

[obvance]

Like I said I am just speaking from experience. ALOT Has to do with the type of event, how long it is and other factors. I used to supply a caterer and this was a pretty good average. Don't assume everyone drinks beer even if only beer is served. Many will ask for their "bud" and after that pissed off look they give you go for the water. Worst case is when someone brings 10 cases of swill on their own and when its gone they they have had a drink and wont even try something new. I always insisted on clear plastic cups too. The serving setup is not always optimal and usually caterers have no idea how to pour a beer. Those Red and Blue "beer" cups are porous and compound foam problems along with not being able to see the beer level.12-14 oz are best . The reason I say "if beer only" that tells me more about the event and a beer only event tells me the drink more. Let us know how it