Independence day beer help!

I think around 15 gallons is about right as well. I'd get a 5 of Coors (for that crowd), a 5 of a good craft pilsner (Victory Prima) and a 5 of an IPA (as high end as you can get). Add 4 to 8 6pks of various styles as a buffer.

 

Impressive. You roll with a good group!

 

You need to know your crowd but a good rule of thumb is 2.5 to 3/person if lasts 3 hrs. Some will drink none, some more. If it lasts longer or a "frat boy" crowd then go with more more. For 50 people would get 150 beers. A sixtel is 60 drinks and 1/4 keg is 75 so take it from there. ICE down two cases of something you like to pull out in an emergency if it all kicks as a backup.

Enjoy

 

If a 1/6bbl keg is 5.16 gallons and your cups are 16 oz, you'll get roughly 40 beers out of it, maybe less if it's abused. You can't really limit people to 12 oz pours with solo cups, but if you could that would still only be about 55 beers.
A 1/2bbl keg is 15.5 gallons--120 beers. You'll need at least that much with others on ice.

 

Great suggestion for ending the party early. How about a trashcan of PJ to go with it?

 

There's also an enjoy after for this July 4th

 

i'd go with this one. in addition to the name would go good with warmer weather and being outside

 

Less than you think...not everybody is going to be pounding beer. Buying a larger keg of say 6 percent craft beer such as pale ale or other IPA is kind of like a "powder keg" waiting to explode. When a keg is there people are more encouraged to drink to excess.

I would think a keg of wimpy American lager, and a few cases of bottles should be more than sufficient.

 

At my wedding, with 175 people, four 1/2 kegs of Victory beer were consumed along with 50 bottles of wine and roughly 15 handles of hard alcohol.

As for 50 people party on a hot day, I agree with the other people here. Keep your sixtel and provide more variety by picking up a bunch of cases, maybe even a few variety packs.

 

We just did a 50 person backyard dinner. I had a few 30 packs (Bud Light, Miller Light) plus various 12 packs of Sierra Nevada (Torpedo, Pale Ale) and a few craft six packs in the "special ice chest." I had a feeling it was going to be more than the crowd would drink. I was right. Still people brought more beer and we had a good bit left over.

I would just supplement your keg with some cases of canned beer. Easy to get, don't have to finish it and return in case they don't drink it.

 

After you posted this and got plenty of advice, what did you decide on and how did it go?