Beer Keg Registration

What is keg registration and how does it work?

• Keg registration (or keg tagging) is a tool to identify and punish adults who buy beer kegs for underage youth

• Keg registration policies stipulate that:
  • Beer kegs are marked with unique identification numbers (using metal or plastic tags, stickers, invisible ink, or engraving)
  • When a store sells a keg, the keg identification number is recorded along with the purchaser's name, address, telephone number, and driver's license number. These records must be kept for a specified length of time, usually six months to a year
    
  • When a beer keg from which underage youth drink alcohol is confiscated by police, the purchaser of the keg is identified and arrested or fined for supplying alcohol to underage persons
    
  • The keg deposit fee is forfeited if a keg is returned with an identification tag that is defaced or missing

• Keg purchasers can also be required to sign a statement promising not to serve alcohol to underage individuals. This statement can be used as a tool to educate purchasers about their potential liability if they serve alcohol to underage people.

• Keg registration can be implemented voluntarily by a store, or required by a local ordinance or state law.
  
  

• Beer kegs are often a main source of alcohol at teenage parties. (2) In addition, kegs may encourage drinking greater quantities of beer, increasing the risk of driving under the influence of alcohol and other alcohol-related problems.
  
  
• When police arrive at underage keg parties, people often scatter. Without keg tagging, there is no way to trace who purchased the keg.
  
  
• Adults who illegally provide alcohol to underage youth may be deterred only if they believe they will face legal or financial consequences for providing alcohol to people under 21 . Keg registration encourages adults to think twice before purchasing kegs and allowing underage youth to drink from them.

Considerations for passing this ordinance in your community

ISSUE: There may be strong opposition from beer wholesalers and retailers who may feel targeted by this policy.
RESPONSE: Keg registration does not penalize the beer industry or retailers. Rather, it is a policy to penalize adults who buy beer for underage youth. By supporting keg registration, the industry becomes part of the solution to the underage drinking problem.

ISSUE: There may be opposition from retailers who fear they will lose business if keg purchasers buy beer in neighboring communities that don't have keg registration policies.
RESPONSE: Customers who do not intend to supply beer to underage persons are unlikely to avoid purchasing kegs at a store that has keg registration.

ISSUE: Retailers may think that keg registration is too costly and time-consuming.
RESPONSE: Communities can pay for keg tagging through various methods, such as licensing fees. Keg registration is not likely to be time consuming because most retailers already record the name and address of keg purchasers.

ISSUE: Community members may oppose keg registration.
RESPONSE: A national survey of adults showed that over 60% of respondents were in favor of keg registration laws. (2)

Note: You are strongly urged to consult with a local attorney to learn about state law requirements before attempting to pass a local ordinance on beer keg registration.

Considerations for implementation

• Purchaser can decide to forfeit the deposit fee and remove the keg identification tag, thereby preventing police from tracing the keg. Possible solutions:
  • Keg deposits can be increased. Many communities have increased the keg deposit to $50.00
    
  • Require keg identification markers that are either difficult to detect (such as invisible ink) or hard to remove, Communities may need to identify new methods to tag kegs.
    
• If keg registration is only required in one small geographic area, customers who want to buy a keg for underage youth could go to a neighboring community that does not have keg registration. (3) For this reason, keg registration may work best if it covers a wide geographic area.

• Liquor stores may be concerned about increased liability. In reality, liability will be reduced for those establishments that comply with the law. Keg registration holds liable adults who buy beer kegs for underage youth. Establishments that legally sell alcohol to adults and follow correct keg registration procedures are not breaking the law and should not be held liable.

• Underage youth may drink more beer in bottles/cans or drink other types of alcohol if beer keg access is limited. Alcohol in cans and bottles is generally not as cheap as keg beer, so the potential for youth drinking as much or more alcohol is not likely-research shows that youth tend to drink less alcohol when prices go up. (4) Furthermore, it may be more difficult for youth to get beer in cans and bottles than it is to get it from a keg at a party.
  

Keg registration alone cannot solve the problem of underage drinking. Other strategies that target adults who provide alcohol to youth should also be implemented, such as:

• Increased police enforcement against adult providers and increased follow-up by the court system (see social host liability policy )

• "Shoulder tap campaigns" in which police cite adults who buy alcohol for youth who approach the adults outside liquor establishments

• Warning posters, flyers, and other educational campaigns to inform adults of the potential financial and criminal consequences for illegally providing alcohol to underage youth (see warning posters policy )

Communities may want to implement keg registration as a first step in attempting to reduce youth drinking because it is relatively easy to implement.

In Billings, Montana, a keg registration ordinance was passed by the City Council in June, 2002. A year-long process to get the ordinance passed was led by a group called Montanans United Saving Lives. The ordinance requires permanent marking on each keg that identifies where and when it was purchased. Other communities, including Bozeman, Montana are looking to Billings for direction on the process of keg registration. (5)

A different form of keg registration was passed in Madison, Wisconsin, in December, 2001. The City Council passed an ordinance that requires keg delivery requests be made in person at the store. The purchaser must show two forms of ID at the store and be present at the delivery address to sign a receipt upon delivery. Records of all keg purchases are required to be kept by the stores for two years. None of the liquor store owners expressed opposition to the new regulations, stating that the new law does not interfere with regular business operations. (6)

1. Wagenaar, A.C., Finnegan, J.R., Wolfson, M., Anstine, P.S., Williams, C.L., Perry, C.L. Where and how adolescents obtain alcoholic beverages. Public Health Reports , 108(4):459-464, 1993.
   
2. Wagenaar AC, Harwood EM, Toomey TL, Denk CE, Zander KM. Public opinion on alcohol policies in the United States: Results from a national survey. Journal of Public Health Policy , 21(3):303-27, 2000.
   
3. Hammond, R.L. Capping keggers: New tracking system aims at curbing illegal sales. The Bottom Line on Alcohol in Society , 11(4), 36-38, 1991.
   
4. Grossman M, Chaloupka FJ, Saffer H, Laixuthai A . Alcohol price policy and youths: A summary of economic research. Journal of Research on Adolescence 4(2):347-364, 1994.
   
5. Webb, J. Local leaders win community support cracking down on kegs. The Billings Gazette. Billings, MT. July 8, 2002.
   
6. Spaetti, A. City Council passes keg ordinance. The Badger Herald . Madison, WI. December 4, 2001

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