Picking the Best Jockey Box
Not all jockey boxes are created equal. There are a variety of factors that go into what makes (or does not make) a jockey box work well. Before you commit to a jockey box rental provider for your wedding, corporate event, party, or festival, take educate yourself on the do's and don'ts of jockey boxes.
The most important aspect of any jockey box available on the market is the length of the coil inside the box. Coils typically come in three common sizes: 50 feet, 70 feet, and 120 feet. The coils inside a jockey box are the life blood of the box and will ultimately be the make or break in whether or not your beer is foamy and warm or foam free and ice cold. 50 foot and 70 foot coils will works for short burst but the minute you need to pour multiple beers in a short amount of time ... get ready for a foam fest! 120 foot coils are the only way to go in terms of coil-based jockey boxes. When setup correctly, 120 foot coils can serve continuously through an entire keg without the appearance of foam or warm beer. A 120 foot coil holds about 6 beers in the coil at all times and this allows for constantly ice cold beer. When we first started Bay Area Draft in 2014, we used 50 foot coils (because we were cheap) and this cause so many issues with customers that we sometimes felt we were in the business of refunding customers :) After a few months of being cheap, we sold off all of our 50 foot coils and upgraded to 120 foot coils. We've never looked back and the days of pouring straight foam are behind us!
Another important aspect of picking a good jockey box rental company is their cleanliness. Cleaning the jockey box is an essential part of the jockey box functioning well each and every rental. We here at Bay Area Draft clean our boxes following the same industry standard for beer line cleaning of bars and restaurants. We use strong cleaners to flush the lines on a continuous cycle for 15 minutes. After this, we flush the system we clean, fresh water to remove all of the cleaning solution. All boxes are sealed off during storage and washed a second time before sending out to rental customers.
The final important aspect of picking the right jockey box rental company is understanding what is included in the rental and what is not. Some providers will charge a deposit and this can range from $100 to $800. Bay Area Draft Co. does not charge heavy deposits for any of our rentals. Make sure to find out if the CO2 tank, regulator, and all necessary hoses are included in the jockey box rental. Each and every one of our rentals includes all the necessary accessories to ensure successful use.
About Bay Area Draft Co
Bay Area Draft is the Bay Area's leader in jockey box, beer bar, and vintage beer truck rentals. Additionally, Bay Area Draft works closely with some of the largest wedding, event, and corporate event planners to produce amazing craft beer inspired events. Bay Area Draft serves the North Bay via an outlet in Santa Rosa, California and serves San Francisco, the East Bay, the Peninsula, and the South Bay via an outlet in Santa Clara, California.