Box of Ale vs Keg of Ale (Wedding Help!)

Ekim

Ekim

Ekim

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Hoping I can get some opinions from ale drinkers here. I am getting married in Cornwall in August and we have the option of asking the venue to bring in some ale for the day which can be served to the guests.

We have option between Tribute and Doombar from which we have chosen Doombar. But we also have the option of a 36 pint box or 72 pint keg.

If any is left over at the end of the night we have to pay for the remainder - but can obviously take the box away with us where as with the keg we couldn't.

I don't drink ale so don't know but is there any significant difference in a box vs a keg? The taste would be the same right? I mean like a glass bottle of coke tastes so much better than a plastic bottle (although that is probably all psychosomatic).

Any help would be gratefully received. We have a BBQ the night before and the wedding day itself so are currently considering getting three boxes - we have a total of 104 guests.
 
Better off with the boxes, It is slow to get a pint though. As its doom bar try and serve it at least under 12c (its very light ale) so you can keep other boxes somewhere cool till they need to be used.

If its two days your must have more beer that pretty much a dry wedding :D
 
Thanks, the will be plenty of other booze. The venue has its own bar this is just as an added extra for ale drinkers.
 
Keg > Box. All day long. Do they have a cellar that you can store the keg in so it can be served at the correct temperature? A box is likely to be easier to chill I suppose, but a keg will stay chilled for longer.

I suspect that regardless the beer won't be stored particularly well anyway, so I'd be tempted to go down the most cost effective way.
 
We had a couple of boxes from the Witchwood brewery for my mates 30th a couple of weeks ago and it tasted spot on so don't let that sway you, I'd go with boxes personally if you don't drink ale and you're paying for it anyway you could always give the left overs to one of the ale drinkers.
 
Ahleckz said:
Keg > Box. All day long. Do they have a cellar that you can store the keg in so it can be served at the correct temperature? A box is likely to be easier to chill I suppose, but a keg will stay chilled for longer.

I suspect that regardless the beer won't be stored particularly well anyway, so I'd be tempted to go down the most cost effective way.
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I would go Cask > Box > Keg,
Using a polypin bag for home brew I'v never had a issue in the 2 weeks it's taken to finish one off, just stored at 10c and been fine.
 
104 guests with a 72 pint keg.

If 18 guests drink ale over the course of the evening, 4 pints each can probably be expected. Whats left over will not cost you that much but its better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

And if you are paying for it, you could probably supply your own, Witchwood (Hobgoblin) would be a better choice than Doombar and Tribute)
 
Bickaxe said:
104 guests with a 72 pint keg.

If 18 guests drink ale over the course of the evening, 4 pints each can probably be expected. Whats left over will not cost you that much but its better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

And if you are paying for it, you could probably supply your own, Witchwood (Hobgoblin) would be a better choice than Doombar and Tribute)
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I'd hate to see the corkage fee the venue would want to stick on top of a keg!
 
I'm getting two 36 pint boxes for our wedding (sneakily agreed a flat rate corkage for all booze too!) as it's easier to serve, don't have to worry about racking and tapping and getting pumps installed. Can always take them away and recycle the rubbish when finished too.
 
Thanks for the help. Will probably go for the three boxes. The venue buy it in as opposed to us supplying it so are limited to Tribute and Doombar although I think we can ask for others but would rather not make it complicated.

They charge £126 for 36 pints and £252 for 72 pints - which is sold to guests at £3.50 a pint. Any remainder is sold back to us at the same cost.

The venue have a dedicated bar in place so would assume a keg wouldn't be an issue in terms of having it easier to serve etc.

I'll check how they store the boxes but would assume they already have that all well thought through if they are offering this as an option.
 
We didn't think it was too bad, but used to London prices so anything sub £4 a pint is ok value.
 
That does seem excessive when you can get a pint of Doombar/Tribute for £2.50 in most bars.
Does the venue not have options on draught anyway?
 
It's got to be a keg.

I wanted to get two kegs for my wedding but the Mrs convinced me that one would be enough as not everyone would drink Ale.

The keg soon ran out :(
 
Bickaxe said:
That does seem excessive when you can get a pint of Doombar/Tribute for £2.50 in most bars.
Does the venue not have options on draught anyway?
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They don't have any ales on draught only bottle. They have lager (Korev) and cider (Rattler) on draught.
 
£3.50 probably isn't too bad for a wedding venue (ie it's not Weatherspoons!).

I'd take Tribute over Doombar any day though.
 
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