Draught beer tastes great. This is especially Draft beer (which is the beer from a keg) is fresher than beer from cans and bottles. The beer takes less time between brewery and distribution to the consumer. It is even fresher if you take it from the brewery.

Beer kegs have been in use for a very long time. Most local and international restaurants sell beer from taps – this is especially common with the rise of craft beer. Granted, beer kegs are in huge demand. Every year, more than 60 million gallons of beer is distributed in kegs.

Besides the freshness of beer, kegs have many advantages – they are easy to roll, stack, and tap. Brewers do not have to worry about broken glasses or bottle caps as the keg is very durable, requires no cap, and it is easy to recycle and reuse.

Welding the Keg

When you press the tap, and the beer comes out of the keg, do you ever wonder how that happens?

A beer keg is a simple container that looks like the traditional barrel. At the factory, a stainless steel sheet if rolled and welded together to form the barrel. Today, with the rise in TIG welders with inverter-based design, it is easy to make a beer keg in and out of the brewery. If welded right, the beer keg releases the right proportions of foam, coolness, carbonation, and flavor. A great deal of design goes into creating that perfect balance.

At the midpoint of the cylinder, the welder presses ribs to add the rigidity of the keg. Further, the top and bottom steel plates are stamped out and welded into place. The steel used on the construction of the beer keg is an alloy of nickel, chromium, manganese, and other elements to make it strong. This steel is also ideal because it welds clean, especially when a TIG welder is used, which is important for food-grade equipment. With a clean weld, bacteria do not have any rough surface to hide.

Airtight Construction

One of the many qualities of a beer keg is airtightness. The ability to hold air in is what makes the beer to stay fresh. If air is let in or out, the beer becomes flat and flavorless. Because the beer has to come out, the welder adds a spear, which is a long tube, which runs almost to the bottom. Beer passes through this metallic straw from the bottom of the keg and out through the tap.

Type of Beer Kegs

Kegs delivered to clubs come as half-barrel kegs. In the U.S., a barrel is a unit of measurement equal to 31 gallons or 117 liters. The half-barrel keg, therefore, holds between 53 and 60 liters. This American keg is slightly larger than the standard 50-liter European keg. When filled with beer, the keg weighs about 73 kilograms. Empty, the keg weighs 14 kilograms.

There is a smaller beer keg, the pony beer keg that you may find in parties. It is called a pony because of its small size. It can hold up to 90 pounds of beer.

Smaller than the pony is a torpedo keg, also called the sixth barrel, which holds about 5 gallons, an equivalent of 19 liters. You can use the torpedo in a dinner part. There is also the mini-keg, which holds ten and a half pints for you to enjoy with friends.

Others are the beer-ball and the corny kegs, which hold up to 5 gallons of beer (19 liters). These two are the most ideal for home brewing purposes.

Keg Pressurization

Smaller beer kegs are easy to use as the spout is at the bottom. Gravity, therefore, forces the beer out of the keg when you open the tap. For the standard beer keg used in pubs, the spout is at the top, and beer has to rise up. For the beer to come out, the pressure is needed.

Beer keg use pumps. What you do is pump a little, and pressure builds inside the beer keg. It is this pressure that forces the beer up the spear and out through the tap. The air pumped in is either carbon IV oxide or nitrogen and not oxygen. Oxygen makes the beer flat. Again, excess carbonation is not good ads. It dissolves in beer. This is why nitrogen is added.

Conclusion

So when you take craft beer from the tap and not from the glass. However, if the pump doesn’t work right and pumps in oxygen, the beer might be flat and tasteless.