Top 5 Places in L.A. To Buy Super Bowl Party Beer Kegs

Photobucket / sgiovenetti

If you're hosting a Super Bowl party this Sunday for friends, you're probably already stressing at the thought of ordering a half-dozen pizzas for on-time delivery and fist fighting for the last family-size bag of Doritos at the local Ralph's.

But when it comes to providing copious amounts of beer for your group of rabid football fans, fret not. We've got the top 5 places where you can buy a keg for maximum stress-free drinkage. Turn the page.

5. BevMo, various locations
For a long time, Bev Mo was the most prominent of the booze-chain retailers to sell kegs to the public and because of that, their selection and process remains tops. They are more than prepared for this weekend's inevitable onslaught of keg orders and are even advertising party packs that include the keg, hand pump, bucket, ice and plastic cups for one price. Though exact availability and selection varies store to store, our local spot had more than 100 kegs of various sizes ranging from the entire Michelob series to Bear Republic's Racer 5 IPA, available for in-store pickup only. Call your store to see what's available or browse online at BevMo.com.

4. Total Wine and More, various locations
Total Wine has been in business in Southern California for more than 10 years, but they've been seriously upping their beer game lately. Not only do they boast the best bottle selection of any big-box store, but their prices are on par with buying straight from the brewery, savings that become even more impressive when browsing their keg selection. The chain carries more than 300 kegs of various sizes and styles from the macro to the micro, with emphasis on the craft breweries (like Abita and Green Flash) not sold by BevMo. Browse what is available online or call your local store for availability.

King Keg

3. King Keg, 5241 W Rosecrans Ave., Hawthorne
King Keg is a Los Angeles keg-ordering institution, mostly because they will deliver all your party beverages to you in a yellow Hummer with a personalized "KINGKEG" license plate. Based out of Hawthorne's Ramp West Market & Liquor, King Keg has some of the best packaged deals around, offering not only kegs of Tecate, Fat Tire and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, but also upgrades like the "Queen Package" -- which includes a bucket, ice and tap -- and the "King Package" -- that comes with jockey boxes and canisters of CO2. Browse package options at King Keg's website and call (877) KING-KEG to order.

2. Ramirez Liquor, 736 South Soto Street, Los Angeles
An unsuspecting storefront on Soto St. just above Whittier Blvd., Ramirez is the little liquor store that could. With what is by far the largest selection of kegs in the greater L.A. area, Ramirez continues to be a slept-on, near-Downtown stop for rare beers and liquors and is one of the best non-brewery choices for Super Bowl party kegs. The store's website lists more than 150 imports and nearly 350 available domestic kegs (many of which remain would be impressive to find in bottles much less in 15.5gal steel containers) along with rentals for hand pumps and double-tap jockey boxes. Check out what you want online, then give the store a call at (323) 261-2915.