We had fun serving beer and wine to attendees of the 35th Bowers Mansion Bluegrass Festival August 19-20. Serving for our club included Steve Bamberger, Jim Van Winkle, Carolyn Abend, Lynn Clarke, Craig Sande, Doug Hill, and Harvey Miller. Jon and Martha Greene were busy running the main show as members of the Northern Nevada Bluegrass Association.
Steve got a cooling shower of beer when he tapped this keg. He had to return home to change out of his sticky clothing. There are many intricacies to successfully serving keg beer in the field including proper keg temperature, leaving time for the keg to settle before tapping, keeping the kegs cool on a warm day, adjusting the CO2 line pressure to provide adequate flow without foaming, and keeping the coils of the jockey box chilled.
Our customers were all friendly and enjoying the excellent weather and music. It really didn't feel like work at all to sit in the shade with excellent bluegrass tunes in the background and having fun serving the event attendees. Next year we may change things up a little and serve local microbrew in cans to provide more variety, reduce work of setup and breakdown, speed serving turnaround, and avoid wastage as the leftover product can be sold by the foundation to the club for future social events. Fortunately, we finished the last keg as the event was winding down - 20 gallons in all.
Some additional photos:
