Kegger Chronicle · Gear & Tradition

Stretchers & Kegs

The engineering history of moving 160 pounds of beer cross-country through the Sierra Nevada

Six men carrying a keg on a steel stretcher across granite slabs — Six men on the steel stretcher, crossing granite. The keg weighs 160 pounds. There is no trail. This is a normal Friday afternoon at the Kegger.

160 lbsFull keg weight

15.5 galBeer per half-barrel

16512-oz cans equivalent

A standard full-size keg weighs 160 pounds full, with the empty keg itself about 30 pounds. Over 50 years, the stretcher has been redesigned exactly twice.

Generation 1: The Wood Stretcher

The original wooden keg stretcher — The original wood stretcher, still surviving. Two-inch by four-inch lumber, screws and bolts. It served for 20 years.

The first stretcher was built from 2" × 4" lumber at Tom McGonigle's dad's shop, in 1976, for the very first Kegger. Two poles, cross-braced, with the keg strapped in the middle. Simple, heavy, and effective.

The wood design served for roughly 20 years — from 1976 through the early 1990s. The one photographed here still lives in someone's garage, a 50-year-old piece of Kegger history.

Two men hoisting a keg on the original wooden stretcher overhead — "Where the men are men." Two men with the original wood stretcher and keg, lifted overhead. The keg is wrapped in blankets.

Generation 2: The Steel Stretcher

Man posing beside the new steel stretcher, circa 2000 — The steel stretcher at camp, around 2000. Blue powder-coated square steel tubing, rope-wrapped handles.

In the early 1990s, Tom commissioned a proper steel stretcher. The design is welded square steel tubing — 1" × 1" × .120 wall — with cylindrical round-tube cross-members at the carry points. It weighs 15 pounds more than the wood version, but does not flex, split, or slide off granite in the same way.

The steel stretcher today — blue painted steel tube construction — The steel stretcher today — still in service. The cargo straps hold the keg in the center frame.

Philip Webster's engineering drawing of the steel keg stretcher — Philip Webster's engineering drawing of the steel stretcher. Total: 31"W × 72"H × 1" thick.

Steel stretcher specifications — per Philip Webster

Main rails: 1" square tube, 1"×1" × .120 wall thickness
Cross-members: cylindrical round tube steel, ½" pipe (⅞" outside diameter)
Carry-bar spacing: 9.5", 17", 28", 44.5", 47.25" from top
Total dimensions: 31"W × 72"H × 1" thick
Additional weight vs. wood version: approx. 15 lbs

The Wheel Experiment

At the same time the steel stretcher was commissioned, a second design was built — one with a wheel. The idea: a wheel would let the stretcher roll over flat terrain, reducing the people needed. It was used exactly once.

It turns out that moving a wheeled keg stretcher across boulders, steep hillsides, and granite faces is harder than just carrying it. The wheel that rolls helpfully on a flat road is a liability when the ground tilts 30 degrees. The original carry method — four to six people, rotating reliever teams, slow and steady — remains the correct answer after 50 years.

See also: The Kegs — the history of which beers have made the trip.