Correct Way to Tap a Keg
- 1). Purchase a keg of beer and rent or buy a keg tap. You will have to rent a keg tap with your keg purchase unless you own your own tap. Make sure that you have the correct tap for your keg because domestic beer kegs are different from imported beer kegs. Your beer distributor will be able to help you find the correct tap.
- 2). Place and leave the keg where you plan on using it for two hours. Foam will build up in the keg as a result of moving the keg and bringing it to your party location, in order to minimize this and to ease the tapping process you should allow the keg it sit undisturbed for about two hours before tapping.
- 3). Remove the plastic cover on the top of the keg. Kegs usually come with a plastic seal or cover on top to keep dust from entering the keg when tapping. You must remove this before putting the tap in the keg.
- 4). Insert the tap into the keg. Once you have removed the plastic cover, you will see the keg's opening which has a small metal ball in the center. You must align the tap with the keg's grooved opening and make sure that the lever on the tap is in the up position. Once the tap is properly aligned, push it down to break the seal and twist it clockwise until it stops. Once the tap is securely in the keg, push the lever on the tap down.
- 5). Pour a few cups of foam and discard. Once the keg is tapped the first few cups will be foam. Pour and discard cups of foam with the dispensing mechanism until you get beer. If your tap has a pump, you will not need to pump the beer until the stream of beer dwindles. Many think that you must pump the keg immediately, but this is not necessary and will increase the amount of foam.
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