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Figuring out keg amount needs

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  • Figuring out keg amount needs

    Is there a good way to figure out keg needs in regards to size and how much you're brewing? It's easy to figure out how many kegs you can fill in a fixed amount of time, but I'm having trouble visualizing how many full kegs we might be hanging on to, along with what's on tap to know how many extra we'll need so that we don't run out of kegs when it's time to empty the brights.

    We're going to be a relatively small brewery that's serving mostly in the tasting room. I know an easy answer to this is "it depends" but if anyone at least has some advice as to how they figured out the number of kegs they needed starting out it would be greatly appreciated!

  • #2
    Figure three kegs for every tap you have pouring at a minimum.
    Pete Broyles
    Riverport Brewing Co
    Clarkston, WA

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    • #3
      The 3-1 rule is a good start. If most of your kegs are staying in-house then I'd ask why not have a cooler with serving tanks? Fewer kegs required and you can keg off a serving tank to make room for a new batch when needed. Will give you flexibility and reduce in-house costs over the long run. Depending on the number of kegs, a serving tank can become a value option in a hurry.

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      • #4
        How big is "relatively small?"

        And how many accounts do you forsee outside of your own taproom? Self distribution or third party?

        One thing a lot of breweries miss until they're well into it is that owning and maintaining a cooperage is often the single largest expense for a brewery!

        If you have a 10 bbl operation, selling 100% in kegs, then I'd suggest that the 3:1 is just barely enough as long as you are doing your own deliveries. If there's a distributor, go 6:1, as they will stockpile kegs before returning them AND they are not as diligent at hounding accounts for delinquent kegs. Turns are slower from a distributor.

        If you're small, I suggest going sixtel heavy...better profit on a sixtel and they pay for themselves faster. Also easier to move around and sell to new accounts. Keep 1/2's your own operations and for really good accounts that want more beer :-)

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        • #5
          Thanks for the input!

          We will have a 1.5bbl brewhouse with 3bbl fermentors. We will be serving our own taproom, but also our wedding venue on another part of the property which has 8 taps and capacity for sixtels only. Which is why we are trying to figure out the cost/benefit of trying to use 1/2bbl kegs on our site, and sixtels at the venue (trying to use 1/2bbls since that's a third of the cleaning as the same volume in sixtels), or whether to use brights as serving tanks, with just enough kegs for the venue, and transferring from the brights when necessary.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by finecreek View Post
            Thanks for the input!

            We will have a 1.5bbl brewhouse with 3bbl fermentors. We will be serving our own taproom, but also our wedding venue on another part of the property which has 8 taps and capacity for sixtels only. Which is why we are trying to figure out the cost/benefit of trying to use 1/2bbl kegs on our site, and sixtels at the venue (trying to use 1/2bbls since that's a third of the cleaning as the same volume in sixtels), or whether to use brights as serving tanks, with just enough kegs for the venue, and transferring from the brights when necessary.
            Depending how far your cooler is from where it'll be connected, 1/4 slim is another option instead of A 1/6 if you want to keep the weight down vs. a 1/2bbl. They're not much larger -- only about 2".
            Kevin Shertz
            Chester River Brewing Company
            Chestertown, MD

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