Matt Milford isn’t going to let Muncie’s lack of kegs ruin his weekends. It just means he has to make a little extra effort and put more gas in his car.
The 20-year-old sophomore has to drive to Anderson for a keg because the 14 liquor stores in Muncie stopped selling them.
Milford is willing to make the 25-minute drive, with of-age friends, to buy three kegs at a time to minimize the chances of running out. For him, where there’s a will, there’s a way.
But not everyone is willing to go that far out of their way for beer.
Senior David Pang spent Saturday night calling liquor stores in Muncie, Anderson and Chesterfield before he bought what he believed to be the last keg in Muncie. The keg of Heineken from Muncie Liquors on Wheeling was one he reserved for a party Friday. Despite last weekend’s determination, Pang said he will forego throwing big parties and just go to the bars unless there is a special occasion. It’s not worth the drive for a keg or the extra cost for cans, he said.
Party-goers typically pay $3 for a cup at a keg party, but when Pang’s keg ran out Friday night, he started charging per can, and people were upset, he said.
Junior Anna Corbito, 20, said a party revolves around the keg. Without that, it’s bring-your-own-beer and much less fun, she said.
Despite rumors, owners of Save-On, Friendly Package Liquors and Muncie Liquor Store decided independently to stop selling kegs because of declining profits, Friendly Package Liquors owner Mike Kilgore said. He told other owners what he was doing, and they decided it would be a good move for their businesses as well.
When Kilgore sold a Keystone Light keg for $49.99, he received only $4.99 more than what he paid wholesale for the keg. It also takes a lot of manpower to sell the 165-pound kegs, which his employees were required to move single-handedly, sometimes injuring themselves.
Although Kilgore said he stopped selling kegs for business reasons, he had the city of Muncie in mind as well. As a member of the Campus Community Coalition (CCC), Kilgore has seen how alcohol can be detrimental to the Muncie community.
Kegs are generally used for large parties, which Kilgore said often creates overcrowded houses, under-age drinking, violence, noise and trash. Without kegs, hopefully the unwanted side-effects of parties should die down, too, he said.
Because it takes 180 12-ounce cans of beer to equal one keg, some students argue that cans create more trash than keg cups. But Kilgore said people will collect and recycle cans for money.
Randy Hyman, CCC chairman and associate dean of student affairs, said the CCC had nothing to do with Kilgore’s actions, however, it does support the initiative.
“Reducing the availability of kegs can have a fairly big impact on the quality of life,” Hyman said.
With thousands of students living near Muncie residents, Kilgore said the lower number of parties will benefit everyone.
“It’s a good community move,” Kilgore said. “It’s not just pinpointing the campus.”
Milford said not selling kegs in Muncie won’t stop underage drinkers and won’t stop house parties, even if it does slow things down. As far as cost is concerned, he would rather the stores raise keg prices than stop selling them completely.
“I don’t know why they didn’t just increase the price,” Milford said. “I’d pay more.”
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