Club Arnage

Thinking of next year event....... We have spent the last years buying crates of cheap bottled beer and cooling them in a chest freezer.

Last year we had an invite from our French camping neighbours for a ice cold draught beer which was heavenly.

Bearing in mind that last years weather was red hot and the freezer really struggled, I was thinking next year the chiller, pump, tap combo could be the way forward.

The stuff is available fairly cheaply on Ebay, which leaves the question: Where in France could you collect beer barrells (for cheapness)?

Paddy might be able to arrange some Heineken!

Thats a question for "Ask Gilles" (not Gieves) OR Simon & Lisa RS2 2
Good plan Rob. That is self preservation................

I will have one of each,thank very much. :P

5 litres mini barrels or normal sized barrels?

I'm not really sure what size
Any guidance would be much appreciated

5L will last less than 5 mins on a hot day, think big

Allow 6 litres per man per day. I don't know what the sizes are, but a 50 litre keg would take some lifting

All the more reason to empty it asap

I like your way of thinking ;D

Kegs in France may well be different fittings to that used over here (we have about 4 types). Having said that I think their kegs are about 20-25 litres so not too bad to lug about.
However: If beer is destined for (and delivered to) the export market it is not subject to UK duty. Call up a decent sized supplier and ask where you can get their beer in France, they may even provide you with a fitting if the ones for France are different

I really shouldn't be dampening long term plans (this is what got us there in the first place) but is anyone starting to think that bottles might be easier, especially as I should have two fridges next year.  Yep, one for beer and one for wines and spirits.

best provider within a reasonable distance from the circuit is:

Le Palais de la Biere - ZAC du Vivier - 72700 ALLONNES (just besides the huge Leclerc superstore)

call them at 00 33 243 80 88 65

They can provide you the whole system (beer, cooling and draught system) that you'll simply have to collect at their place

Cheers Gilles

Spoke to them today..... appears around €93 for a 30l barrel and all the kit!
Can't wait!!!!!!
mmmmmmmm cold beer

Seems reasonable - what does it include, kit wise? And what beer is it?

I'm led to believe the " kit" includes everything ie chiller, pump, tap & gas. The 30 litre barrells are €70 each, not sure what beer it is, but hey after a while, who cares!!
They sell beers from around europe, so we are contemplating a barrell (or 3)  from each country each day!!

Brilliant - they must have Watneys Red Barrel

Of course you could save yourselves a lot of trouble, by sticking to red wine & whiskey. No need for any form of coolant ;D

Well...... after 2005 race and the chest freezer had finally cried off, we did spend the early evening submerged in the pool quaffing a fabulous Bordeaux that was on offer in Carrefour!!!

Gilles could you possibly help me out with the rental of the draught system from Le Palais de la Biere ?????

I have breifly spoken to them earlier in the year, my French is rubbish-their English is equally as bad! Please could you double check what the kit consists of and how much it is to rent? Also could you find out what the power consumption of the unit is so I can plan for either a generator or some sort of solar power configuration.

Many thanks in advance (obviously a cold one will be waiting for you LM2006!!)

As this info may be of interest to many, please could you make sure you drop me a note with details - we'll look at putting it in the sticky Help thread.

Sure thing

O, it justify a complete and serious investigation !!!

Please wait a few days however...  ;)

Sounds like a great idea and reasonably priced!  BUT.....how what about the bottle mountain?  Would we all have to work together and build a keg mountain!!  ;D ;D

Many thanks Gilles, you're a star

PaddyNL made a very good start on a Keg mountain this year.

Sounds pretty reasonable pricewise. We paid €105,- per 50 litres this year. However, we're looking at cheaper prices for '06. I found a supplier which will sell German beer for € 46,- per 50 litres. We're planning on bringing 1000 litres next year, and so the price difference becomes worth considering. We're having a meeting in January, will test the beer then.

Whatever you do, make sure the coupplings are okay. Back in '04 we had a few beerbarrels from a different brand next to the Heineken, but couldn't drink it because the couplings didn't fit :-\
(should be alright though if you rent from one place)

a very neat row of kegs ;D

Paddy, thats a ton of beer, but at 35p a pint sound like a wise move.  Do be careful, as some cheap beer is like p!ss.  ALthough after a few it all tastes the same.

Round here, beer in the bars is about E4 a pint - about 8 times as much, no wonder I'm such a sober character

keg mountains are fine, much less hassle than the ones made out of bottles and you can even stumble over them without too much damage (to the keg mountain ;D ;D ;D)

Here's a pic of our approach from 2002 (status: Sunday, about 2 pm, 9 people drinking for app. 72 hours):

Cheers

Werner

Paddy, please be careful!

The fact that beer is from Germany doesn't mean anything these days and doesn't guarantee quality, besides some real high class beers there's also plenty of cheap horsepiss around here in Germany and € 46 for 50 litres sounds just like that. -X :-X :-X (unless it is a very special offer).

If you wan't to buy german beer, you'll be on the safe side when sticking to brand names, e.g. the "Bitburger" brewery never gave us headaches ;D ;D

Cheers

Werner

Werner, does "Prinz Hendrick pils" say anything to you?
Sounds dodgy, maybe. But we'll test in January, and if it's no good it's no go.

Thanks Werner :)

Paddy, I've never heard of "Prinz Hendrick Pils", so please do thorough short run and long run test programs before deciding upon it .
Also do a compliance test with BBQ food and hamburgers ;D ;D ;D

Cheers

Werner

I like the idea of a bbq test.  I'm sure you're also trying a "tenth pint as good as the first test"

Please bear in mind that Pils is short for "Pilsener" after Plzen in the Czech republic, so this beer has a mixed heritage.  The name has been hijacked so often we even have it in England.

But do keep up the research in the name of science.  Personally, I'll stick to Kronenburg.  About 45p a pint, but you know what you're getting and if you change your mind you can always buy Heineken or Becks.

I've just found Prinz Hendrick on a Nederlands website, but what does Alcohol vrij bier mean?

Hmmm, sounds very much like Alcohol Free Beer, Lorry.  Not good at all  :(

That's what it is! That certainly wouldn't suit DfH.

I was hoping someone would fall for that.  Paddy must be panicing

What I've just realised is , how do you carry draft beer round.  I wander round with a cold 6 pack in a rucksack.  It can last over an hour.  How many feet of hosepipe would I need carry to maintain supplies of draft.

Awesome Werner I se the Warsteiner bus in the background. Everyone already knows I am a big fan of Warsteiner :P
Canada Phil
                           

As we speak of German beer I sitting at the computer enjoying an
Optinator by Spaten.It was bought for me by my good friends Seppe
and his brother Roy from Germany.It is 7.2 % alc.WooHoo !Do any of you CA ers know them,they do some kind of composite work.Like building 962
noses etc.They were just here working on one of the Rothman Porshes
I believe they said it was chasssis 006.

Its got to be both.

Just got some Desperado beer, imported from France .

Bottles are ace and so are the 5 litre cans !!