Description of Strategy
Keg registration laws require wholesalers or retailers to attach a tag, sticker, or engraving with an identification number to kegs exceeding a specified capacity (two to eight gallon minimum depending on the state). At purchase, the retailer records identifying information about the purchaser (for example, name, address, telephone number, driver’s license). A refundable deposit may also be collected for the keg itself, the tapper mechanism used to serve the beer, or both. The deposit is refunded when the keg and/or tapper are returned with the identification number intact. In some states, keg laws specifically prohibit destroying or altering the ID tag and provide penalties for doing so. Other states make it a crime to possess an unregistered or unlabeled keg (Alcohol Policy Information System, 2011).
In Wyoming, the alcohol retailer must record identifying information about the keg purchaser and affix an identification tag or label to the beer keg (Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 12-2-502, 2017). Any person who removes or alters the identification tag or label affixed to the beer keg is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $500 (Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 12-2-505, 2017).
Also known as...
Keg registration, keg tapping laws
Discussion of Effectiveness
Alcohol
The evidence of effectiveness from the literature generally does not support beer keg registration as an effective strategy to reduce beer consumption, adolescent binge drinking, or adult driving after drinking (Ringwalt & Paschall, 2011; Sacks, 2014; Wechsler, Lee, Nelson, & Kuo, 2002). There is some evidence to suggest that states with strict alcohol control laws and underage drinking policies, including keg registration may have less binge drinking (Wechsler, 2008) and fewer alcohol-related traffic crashes (Fell, 2009; Fell, 2008, Imm, 2007).
A comprehensive policy analysis of keg registration laws (Wageneer, Harwood, Silianoff, & Toomey, 2005) found wide variation in state keg registration laws, in the procedures specified under those laws, and the way the laws were enforced. The authors caution that because the keg registration policies differ substantially across states, they should be examined using multiple policy dimensions rather than merely recording whether policies are present or not.