Kegless on a Sunday
I faced a beer dilemma over the Labor Day weekend. I lost a keg.
I had ordered a small, what I call the mid-life size keg ( 1/6 of a barrel) of Clipper City Marzen for a Sunday afternoon crab feast. The shindig was set for the neighorhood swimming pool in Bolton Hill, a setting that like most swimming pools prohibits glass. There were going to be about 12 adults, most of them beer drinkers, so I figured the small keg that serves about 50 12-ounce cups would be the way to go.
I ordered the keg early in the week, but Saturday, when I showed up at the Wine Source in Hampden to pick it up, the keg was not there. It had mistakenly been sold to another customer who was keg-hunting. The staff members apologized, saying it was their mistake, and offered to discount any replacement beer I bought.
But what to buy? It was too late to get a replacement keg. The store would be closed the next day, Sunday. Bottles were out of the equation. It had to be canned beer.
I settled for cans of Dale's Pale Ale and cans of Yuengling Lager. These beers went over well with our crab eaters, half of whom were in their 20s, the other half over 50. The hop heads went for the Dale's, the rest liked the Yuengling.
I wondered, has anyone else ever been caught keg-less?
What canned beers would you substitute?
Comments
It's only happened to me once before. I was luck as I was waiting on a 1/2 keg of Miller Highlife. When it didn't come in in time for a party I was having the owner of the store gave me the equivalent in bottles and cans. I would have rather had the keg but it all worked out in the end. I will say though to me the first 3 or 4 hours of a fresh Miller Highlife keg is some of the smoothest beer around.
Posted by: Jr Copper | September 2, 2008 4:41 PM
The solution is to get rid of those rules that ban beer sales on sundays!
Posted by: Bolt | September 2, 2008 7:22 PM
Here in Milwaukee you can buy beer 7 days a week. Although only bars can sell it after 9:00pm.
I own a keg-o-rator and my favorite place to buy beer is directly from the local microbreweries. They're cheaper and fresher than my local liquor store, and they are rarely out of my favorites.
Posted by: Alba | September 3, 2008 12:26 PM
I have never been caught kegless but I commend your choice of substitute beers. Dale's Pale Ale is great. I had some earlier this Summer for the first time and really liked its hoppiness.
Posted by: Duane | September 3, 2008 6:48 PM
Just like Maryland Vinyards can't sell you a bottle of wine I am pretty sure that Maryland Microbreweries can't sell you package goods or kegs. It has something to do with the powerful liquor lobby and corrupt politicians.
Rob, I don't know how you reacted but I know I would have gone nuts. I have thought about special ordering wines through the Wine Source but I think I'll skip the idea. If they jerked you around just think how they must treat regular people who can't strike back through the newspaper.
Posted by: Elite Elephant Lover | September 3, 2008 9:39 PM
Rob,
You should have played the celebrity card.
"Do you know who I am?"
Then they would have offered you the VIP keg selection...
Posted by: Eric Trimmer | September 4, 2008 11:58 AM
Great choice with the Yuengling.
Posted by: Brian | September 4, 2008 2:35 PM
I'm sorry to read Elite Elephant's comment.
This was an honest mistake.
I've had nothing but good experiences with the Wine Source. When I've asked for things, they've gone out of their way to start stocking it on the shelf, and they're always very friendly!
Posted by: Andrea | September 8, 2008 11:29 AM
I don't think you could have done better with Dale's PA and Yuengling, as far as canned beer goes.
Posted by: Ryan | September 8, 2008 2:12 PM
Don't forget about Heineken Keg Cans!
Posted by: Greg S | September 10, 2008 5:17 PM
Beerless would be worse than kegless, but if I had to choose cans only, there is also Brooklyn Lager, Pilsner Urquell, numerous Brit beers, like Tetleys, Youngs, Boddingtons, Bass Ale, etc. Also, Guiness is available in cans and if crabs are the menu, can a little Natty Boh be all that bad?
Posted by: dominic cantalupo | September 19, 2008 11:48 AM
I don't know what Elite Elephant is talking about. I have bought wine from Maryland vinyards (Boordy, and Deep Creek to name two) and beer from Maryland microbreweries (Clipper City in bottles, DuClaw in growlers). Liquor laws in Maryland differ from one county to another. You can even buy hard liquor on Sundays in AA and Howard.
Posted by: Chris | September 23, 2008 9:52 AM