Serve The Beer Cold and The Food Warm at your Party for the Big Game

Serve the Beer Cold at Your Party for the Big Game

Start with the invites. How many people are coming to your party? How much beer do you need? Here at Rapids Wholesale, we actually have an app for calculating how much beer you need based on the length of your party and the number of guests.

The Rapids Keg-O-Meter determines the size and number of kegs you need for a large party.

If your party is small (just a few people) a keg is not the answer. In this case, the perfect way to dispense beer is a tabletop beverage dispenser. It lets you serve mixed drinks, punch, beer, or wine, and with a chill stick, you can keep your beer or beverage the perfect temperature.

Now, if your party is large enough to require a keg or a pony keg, you will need to have all the proper equipment to tap the keg, as well as a keg jacket or a keg tub to keep it cool. You will also need to plan out your drinking schedule - once you tap your keg with a manual tap pump, you've introduced air into your keg, meaning from this point on your beer has only about 8 hours before it goes stale. If you have frequent parties where keg beer is served, you might consider investing in a jockey box keg beer dispenser and a CO2 tank and regulator. With a jockey box, since you tap the keg with gas, the beer in the keg will stay fresh for a couple of weeks, as long as you keep the keg cold with an insulated keg blanket, jacket, or insulated keg tub.

For the safety of your guests, it is imperative that you serve your food at the proper temperature to prevent the growth of bacteria. This bacteria growth is most likely to occur in the "Food Danger Zone," which refers to any temperature between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit . In other words, your cold food needs to be kept below 40 degrees and your warm food above 140.

One of the best ways to keep your food warm is a chafer, or chafing dish. You will find chafers range in price from under $10.00 to over $300.00. If you entertain quite a bit, you might want to invest in a mid-range chafer that will last for years and was designed not just to be functional, but are also to add an ambiance to your serving area.

For your cold foods, you can of course use ice. Make certain to refresh the ice often to keep your food cold.

A better alternative if you frequently host parties or tailgate is to invest in insulated serving bowls, cold-fest pans, and buffet chillers. While all of these options will keep your food cool, the buffet chiller provides an added benefit. A buffet chiller will fit the same steam table pans you can use in a chafer: 1/3, 1/2, or full size pans. Invest in steam table pans and you can use them in either your chafer or your buffet chiller. Freeze these pans before using them and they can keep your cold food at a safe serving temperature for hours.