Keg Sizes: How Many Glasses?

Given that most people switch to kegerator-chilled draft beer for reasons of economy, it is surprising that most people do not know how many 12 ounce glasses of beer are in a keg. How do you know how much money you are saving if you don't do the math?

Also, not all kegs are the same size. What is generally called a keg, or sometimes a half-barrel, 15.5 gallons of beer, but there are other varieties of kegs. There is what is popularly referred to as a pony keg (a perfect size keg for your home kegerator), or quarter-barrel, which contains 7.75 gallons of beer. The lesser known sixth-barrel holds 5.23 gallons of beer, and there is also what is known as a corny keg used mostly by homebrewers that can hold 5.0 gallons of beer.

In a perfect world, we could drink our beer by the gallon, but the responsibilities of work and family usually limit us to 12-ounce servings. So, if you are deciding what size keg you need for your new kegerator, here is the breakdown: a full keg will yield approximately 165 twelve ounce glasses of beer, a pony keg yields 82 glasses, a sixth barrel will give you 55 glasses, and the corny keg will yield 53 beers.

Once you have selected the right kegerator for your home bar, these numbers should help you gauge what size keg(s) you keep in it.