by Tracy Morrison

Created on: April 09, 2010

I think its an planet wide law that if your having a summer party, you must a have a beer keg! There are several reasons to have a keg at any summer party.

1. Its usually cheaper than bottled or canned beer

2. Its much fresher tasting

3. It cuts down on beverage waste versus bottles and cans

Keeping the keg ICE COLD before and during the party is the key to success!

For a full or medium size keg, the best thing to get is a NEW, CLEAN 55 gallon trash can from any home improvement store. its really best to buy a new one, some people might be hesitant to drink from a keg in a dirty, used trash can even though you may have cleaned it.

First thing you need to do is figure out exactly WHERE you want the keg. Once the ice and keg are in the trash can it will be extremely heavy and very difficult to move. Placing it away from a doorway and where people are walking back and forth is the best way to keep it out of the way.

You will need 8-10 bags of ice. Crushed ice is the best. It is smaller and leaves less room for air pockets so it keeps the keg as cold as possible. Pour 2 bags of ice in the bottom of the trash can. Place the bottom of the keg in the center of the trash can on top of the ice. Pour 4-6 bags of ice around the sides of the trash can. The keg is full at this point and VERY HEAVY.

Once you have the sides covered with ice and the keg is sitting upright, cover the top of the keg with several bags of ice. Doing this as early as you can before the party makes the beer ice COLD. Pour several gallons of water on top of the keg to keep the keg sitting in ice cold water the entire time of the party. Ice may need to be added during the duration of the festivities.

Once the keg "floats", can easily moved around, it is empty and should be replaced with a new one or loaded up to be returned to the liquor supplier. Allowing a beer keg to get warm is not a good idea. In the case of having multiple kegs, you will need multiple trash cans. If you simply cannot get new trash cans, triple bag the trash can with trash can liners to keep your ice and keg sanitary.

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