Hi folks! So, I am considering taking the plunge and buying a kegarator (more & more with folks walking away from growlers.) I'm curious of anyone knows of a few of the smaller guys inside 495 in MA or south of Concord, NH that will fill a quarter barrel for off premise consumption. No interest in IPA's or Pales. Good browns, porters, malty ESB's, and other malt forward brews go to the front of the line! I appreciate any thoughts!
That's a tall order -- malt forward kegs from local MA brewers in 1/4 barrel size. Have you considered homebrewing?
CBC Belmont has a keg list on its website. You may want to give them a call - I'm sure they can source more brands than are on that site. Buying kegs directly from MA brewers will probably be more difficult.
Wow, I never knew that CBC had such an in depth online inventory system. They even claim the bottle/can section is "live". Impressive if it's actually accurate.
I don't believe the brewers can sell directly. You'll have to go through a retailer. Not sure if brewpubs can sell directly to consumers but that might be another option.
I know Kelsen Brewing in NH sells kegs directly to consumers but in sixth barrels. As mentioned above in MA it may not be legal, at the least it will depend on the liquor license the brewery has for on site sales. Going through a retailer is probably your best bet anyhow. Having bought local craft kegs for a few years now my recommendation is you should find a place that not only sells craft beer but also is easy to work with. Most breweries sell craft beer in sixth barrels not quarters. Some national brands sell quarters like Founders. Some other things to keep in mind are that you might have to wait a while if you want something specific, especially if its local. I usually just ask for a list of what's available in local craft and pick from that. The only time you want to use a big liquor store to buy kegs is if you purchase popular national brands. If you only wanted say Sam Adams for instance you'd save a ton of money at a big liquor store because they get big discounts on high volume beers (like $10-20 difference), craft beer is never high volume so prices don't vary as much as far as I have seen. Before you buy the kegerator go onto the home bar forum and search for threads on kegerator advice. You'll save yourself a lot of headaches. If you ever plan on having more than one beer on tap look for one that will fit at least two sixths if not a sixth and a quarter. My kegerator can only fit 2 sixths at the same time which is disappointing because unless I kick out my wife's keg I can't get a quarter.
At some smaller breweries, get to know the pourers in the tasting room. Go in a few times, spend some cash on growlers, and then just ask them if they will fill an empty 1/6bbl for you. Its worked for me several times. Drop off the barrel before a racking date, and come pick it up after they fill it.
