{
  "slug": "keg-yield-calculator",
  "title": "Keg Yield Calculator",
  "heading": "Keg Yield & Pour Cost Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/keg-yield-calculator",
  "summary": "Pints per keg, cost per pour, and pour cost percentage for draft beer.",
  "description": "A standard half-barrel keg holds 15.5 gallons, or 1,984 ounces. At a 16oz pour with roughly 8-10% loss to foam, spillage, and the first-pour waste that comes with line cleaning, real-world yield is closer to 110-124 usable pints rather than the theoretical 124 pints you'd get with zero loss. This calculator applies a configurable loss percentage to keg size and pour size, giving you a realistic pours-per-keg number, cost per pour, and pour cost percentage against your menu price. Draft beer typically targets 18-24% pour cost, tighter than liquor because keg pricing is more predictable and there's less recipe variability. A bar consistently seeing fewer pours per keg than this calculator predicts likely has a line-cleaning or pour-size problem worth auditing with a physical keg-to-pour count over one keg.",
  "formula": "Usable ounces = keg ounces × (1 − loss %). Pours = usable ounces ÷ pour size. Cost per pour = keg cost ÷ pours.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=keg-yield-calculator",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "kegSize",
      "label": "Keg size",
      "kind": "select",
      "hint": null,
      "default": "1984",
      "options": [
        {
          "value": "1984",
          "label": "Half barrel (15.5 gal)"
        },
        {
          "value": "992",
          "label": "Quarter barrel (7.75 gal)"
        },
        {
          "value": "660",
          "label": "Sixth barrel (5.16 gal)"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "kegCost",
      "label": "Keg cost",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 165,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "pourOz",
      "label": "Pour size",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 16,
      "unit": "oz",
      "min": 4,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "lossPct",
      "label": "Foam/spillage loss",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 10,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 30
    },
    {
      "id": "price",
      "label": "Price per pour",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 7,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "pours",
      "label": "Usable pours per keg",
      "format": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "costPerPour",
      "label": "Cost per pour",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "pourCostPct",
      "label": "Pour cost %",
      "format": "percent",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "usableOz",
      "label": "Usable ounces after loss",
      "format": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Keg size: Half barrel (15.5 gal)",
      "Keg cost: 165 $",
      "Pour size: 16 oz",
      "Foam/spillage loss: 10 %",
      "Price per pour: 7 $"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Usable pours per keg: 112",
      "Cost per pour: $1.48",
      "Pour cost %: 21.1%",
      "Usable ounces after loss: 1,786"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter keg size.",
      "Enter keg cost ($).",
      "Enter pour size (oz).",
      "Enter foam/spillage loss (%).",
      "Enter price per pour ($).",
      "Read your usable pours per keg on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "kegSize": "1984",
        "kegCost": 100,
        "pourOz": 10,
        "lossPct": 6,
        "price": 4.2
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "kegSize": "1984",
        "kegCost": 165,
        "pourOz": 16,
        "lossPct": 10,
        "price": 7
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "kegSize": "1984",
        "kegCost": 265,
        "pourOz": 26,
        "lossPct": 16,
        "price": 11.200000000000001
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How much foam/spillage loss is normal?",
      "a": "8-10% is typical for a well-maintained draft system with trained staff. Poorly balanced lines (wrong resistance for the run length), warm beer, or dirty lines can push loss to 15-20%, which on a $165 keg is $16-33 of lost product per keg."
    },
    {
      "q": "What's a good pour cost target for draft beer?",
      "a": "18-24% is standard. It runs tighter than liquor pour cost because keg pricing from distributors is stable and predictable, with less of the recipe-driven cost variability that cocktails and mixed drinks have."
    },
    {
      "q": "Why do quarter and sixth barrel kegs cost more per ounce?",
      "a": "Smaller format kegs (popular for craft and rotating taps) carry higher per-ounce distributor pricing because of lower volume discounts and more frequent changeouts, so pour cost on rotating craft taps often runs a few points higher than year-round domestic drafts."
    },
    {
      "q": "How do I audit real keg yield against this calculator?",
      "a": "Count exact pours from one full keg using a metered system or manual tally, then compare to the calculator's estimate. A gap of more than 10-15 pours below the estimate points to over-pouring, foam waste, or a line-cleaning process that's dumping more product than expected."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/pour-cost-calculator",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/bar-inventory-variance",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/wine-markup-calculator"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Keg Yield Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/keg-yield-calculator)"
}