Meaning & use
a pony keg
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A small metal container of beer, about half the size of a normal keg.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a pony keg', 'two pony kegs'. It is often used with 'of': 'a pony keg of beer'.
Patterns
- a pony keg of beer
- buy/order a pony keg
- a pony keg holds ...
We bought a pony keg for the party because a full keg would have been too much.
A pony keg usually holds about 7.75 gallons of beer.
Can you pick up a pony keg of lager on your way home?
Word forms
| plural | pony kegs |
|---|
Common combinations
- a pony keg of beer
- They ordered a pony keg of beer for the barbecue.
- buy a pony keg
- We decided to buy a pony keg instead of several cases of bottles.
- a half-barrel pony keg
- The store calls it a half-barrel pony keg, but most people just say pony keg.
- tap a pony keg
- It took him a few minutes to tap the pony keg.
Synonyms and how they differ
- half-barrel
- A half-barrel is the same size as a pony keg in the US, but the term is more formal and used in the beer industry.
- mini keg
- A mini keg is even smaller than a pony keg; it often holds about 5 liters.
Commonly confused: a pony keg or keg?
a pony keg vs keg
A keg is the general word for any beer container of this type. A pony keg is specifically the smaller size.
Practice
How much beer does a pony keg usually hold in the US?
Choose one answer.
A US pony keg holds about 7.75 gallons. A full keg (half-barrel) holds about 15.5 gallons, and a mini keg holds about 5 liters, so the other options are either too large or too small.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a pony keg”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.