What's on tap at the pub

...and knowing which type of tap you need Thirsty Thursday

Cooper at the bar

I have not been home brewing lately so we have been buying commercial kegs to keep our kegerator flowing.  We went on a mission to find one of our favorite German beers, Franziskaner, in keg form.  Our local German restaurant has it on tap so we knew we could find it.   We lovingly call this beer "The Monk one" and in our experience the monks really know how to brew beer!

We found it at a local liquor store that boasts a wide keg selection, Cask and Flask, and picked it up the weekend before our Halloween party.  Since we have a kegerator with a CO2 system we only rent the keg, no bucket or hand pump.  I thought that we would be drinking beer soon after arriving home.

I was set since I already had an international tap that I use on Newcastle.  I took off the domestic tap that we were using for Shocktop, a good summer beer, and reattached the hoses to the international tap.  I looked at the parts and there was a major problem... international does not cover Germany!!! I found that German kegs use the Type A German slider tap after a quick Google search.  My local brewing supply places had already closed for the day so I placed an order through Amazon for the part.  Then came the stressful waiting and fretting that it would not arrive in time for the party because it was coming from Buffalo, New York.  Luckily it did arrive by Wednesday and I was able to pick it up at the post office Thursday at lunch and have beer flowing after work.  The monk beer was a big hit at the party and we still have some to enjoy now.

Here is a chart that explains the sizes of kegs, how many cups, and what the different taps look like.  Follow the link to see a list of beers and the type of tap that they require.  The worst thing is to have a keg of beer that you can not get in to!

Photo Credit follow link to see a chart of beers and tap types

After going to Oktoberfest I think that the Germans use the German Slider tap so that they can tap kegs quickly.  There is no twisting involved like there is for the American or International Sankey taps.  The German tap slides right on and then you push down on the handle to tap.  I have learned my lesson!

Cheers,

Amy