Draught or Draft beer is almost always un-pasteurized and therefore is more fragile.  It should be consumed after being "tapped", and is generally truer to the flavors of the ingredients as pasteurization exposes the beer to heat and changes the flavor profile. A keg has a concentrically located downtube and a valve that allows beer in and gas out when filling and vice versa when beer is dispensed. Also kegs have a simple concave bottom. This aspect of keg design meant that all the beer in the keg was dispensed which therefore required that the beer be processed by filtration, fining or centrifuging, or some combination of these, to prevent sediment formation. Lastly, kegs have straight sides unlike the traditional barrel or cask shape. In order to get the beer out of a keg and into a customer’s glass, it can be forced out with gas pressure, although if air or gas at low pressure is admitted to the top of the keg it can also be dispensed using a traditional hand pump at the bar. By the early 1970s most beer in Britain was keg beer, filtered, pasteurized and artificially carbonated. This change was largely driven by the customer's dislike of sediment in his beer.

How To Clean Draft Beer and Equipment

Keg Facts and Conversion Tables
(Currently this includes the U.S. standard kegs.)
 
Kegs(Typical Kegs used in the U.S.)

Using a 12 ounce glass with 20% head, one 1/2bbl will pour an average 206 12 ounce glasses.

1/2 Barrel Keg...............................1/4 Barrel Keg

23 1/4 inches.........Height.................14 3/4 inches

17.0 inches............Diameter.............17.0 inches

1984 ounces..........Contents..............992 ounces

160.5 pounds.........Full Weight........ 82.2 pounds

29.7 pounds...........Empty Weight.....17.3 pounds

130.8 pounds.........Beer Weight........64.9 pounds

29°F.......................Freezing Point....29°F

Income From a 1/2 Barrel of Beer (1,984 ounces)
If dispensed properly, the table below indicates the approximate number of glasses obtained per one half barrel.

Foam is 25% Beer & 75% Carbon Dioxide - Don't Waste It!

Glassware Size = Ounces 1" Head 3/4" Head 1/2" Head
Sham Pilsner 7 381 360 336
  8 343 325 283
  9 292 279 260
  10 265 245 223
Hour Glass 9 290 264 250
  10 264 248 233
  11 235 220 205
  12 220 204 189
  13 198 184 173
  15 165 157 147
Glass Mug 8 330 283 260
  10 248 233 223
  12 203 189 176
  14 169 158 153
  16 149 140 134
Shell 7 360 336 315
  8 315 292 275
  9 270 255 243
  10 245 236 220
Footed Pilsner 8 325 292 280
  10 250 233 215
Tulip Goblet 8 305 292 275
  10 248 230 207
Hazel Mug 13 189 185 172
Goblet 9 378 331 294
  10 317 283 264
  12 248 220 204
  14 209 194 172

Pitchers 60 39 pitchers with 1" Head 42 Pitchers with 1 1/2 inch  Head
  64 35 Pitchers with 1" Head 38 Pitchers with 1 1/2 inch Head
  67 34 Pitchers with 1" Head 37 Pitchers with 1 1/2 inch Head


Conversion Tables

Keg Size..............# of Gallons.............# of Ounces............Metric Equiv.

One Full bbl...........31 gallons................3968 ounces.............107.348 liters

One Half bbl..........15.5 gallons..............1984 ounces.............58.674 liters

One Quarter bbl.....7.75 gallons...............992 ounces..............29.337 liters

So, as you see, 10hl  = 8 1/2bbls
24 Twelve Ounce Equivalent Cases per 1/2 BBL by Package Size

12 oz. Package..........6.888 Cases per 1/2 bbl

16 oz. Package..........5.166 Cases per 1/2 bbl

32 oz. Package..........5.166 Cases per 1/2 bbl

Weight of Draught Beer

One Ounce of Draught Beer by Volume = One Ounce by Weight