Phil Best said he would not throw as many keg beer parties as he once had, thanks to Kansas’ new keg registration law, which went into effect Monday.

“I just don’t like the tracking process,” the 23-year-old recent Kansas University graduate said.

	Video: 6News coverage

It’s a law some say threatens the nature of campus-area parties where legal-age buyers often provide keg beer for all party-goers because registration will make it easier to prosecute those who illegally supply beer to minors.

Liquor retailers also worry it will shut the tap on a big segment of their business, as has happened elsewhere when keg registration started.

Here’s what the new law requires:

Liquor store workers must fill out a form listing date of sale and the name, address, and date of birth of the purchaser of any keg of 4 gallons or more. The purchaser must have valid photo identification.

A coated paper strip with a number on it is attached to the keg and a copy of the number is listed on the registration form. The liquor store keeps the registration form until the keg is returned.

If the keg is returned without the identifying strip, the store is required to keep the registration form on file for six months for possible review.

If a keg purchaser is caught by law enforcement officers with a keg lacking a tag, the purchaser could be convicted of a misdemeanor and fined as much as $200.

If a keg dealer is caught failing to follow the registration law, it could be fined as much as $1,000 by Kansas Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Scott Schmidtberger, manager at Alvin's Wines and Spirits, 905 Iowa, displays the new beer keg registration tags. A law that took effect Monday requires a tag on every keg rented to customers.

Reaction to the rules was mixed Monday among retailers.

“I don’t have a problem with it,” said Joe Schmidtberger, owner of Alvin’s Wines and Spirits, 905 Iowa. “I haven’t heard any big complaints about it.”

But Ricky Livers, an employee at Myers Retail Liquor, 902 W. 23rd St., wasn’t pleased.

“It’s a hassle for liquor stores,” Livers said. “You have to take down this information and you have to explain to people why you are doing it. They get nervous, and so do we.”

Though the law went into effect Monday, keg purchasers at most Lawrence liquor stores within the last week have found number-bearing tags on their kegs, and some paperwork to complete before they could haul them away. ABC asked retailers to start the registration process early so they could be accustomed to the process when it became law.

Schmidtberger said the law did not specify who was responsible for removing the tag when a keg was returned. He said he probably would leave them for beer distributors to remove.

“I just hope that they come off,” he said. “I don’t want a keg I sold showing up somewhere else with the number on it and there be a problem later.”

Schmidtberger said he had received kegs still tagged with numbers from other states that already had registration laws.

Both Schmidtberger and Livers said they were worried keg sales would drop dramatically for awhile, as they have in other states or cities that started registration programs. State officials said that could happen.

“There might be some drop,” said Pete Bodyk, spokesman for ABC. “But I think that’s just for a short period. I don’t think there will be a big drop in consumption. People will just buy more beer in cans or some other means.”

Customers at Alvin’s have not complained about registering, Schmidtberger said.

“If it stops some 23- or 24-year-old from buying a keg and then giving it to someone who is 18, then it will be a good law,” he said.

Best said he did not want underage drinkers at his keg parties. But he’s not going to check the IDs of everyone who drops by, either.

That attitude is common among most young keg purchasers, especially those living close to campus, Livers said.

“This is going to change the whole party culture in Lawrence,” he said.