Kegs: Turning Pro Part 8
You blithely assume that you can just buy some kegs, put beer in them, and you are good to go. Not so fast. It takes more thought than that. In fact, I can’t believe how much time we’ve put into thinking about packaging sofar. At least as much as we’ve put into getting set up to brew our beer.
The first step is to determine what size keg you will use and how many of them you’ll need. There are a variety of sizes and shapes, but the standards in the United States are mainly 1/2, 1/4, and 1/6 US bbl. The 1/2 bbl are nice, because you need to buy, clean, fill, and handle fewer kegs for a given volume of beer versus the smaller sizes. However, if you are unknown or selling an extreme beer that a retailer may sell in smaller pours or will only sell to extreme customers, then asking them to buy a 1/2 bbl may prove more
difficult than a smaller package. Smaller packages are nice also, because the keg runs out faster and gets replaced more frequently. Of course, the bar staff isn’t always thrilled about having to change out kegs frequently. So, it is a balancing act. For Heretic, we decided it would be best to have a mix of 1/2 and 1/6 bbl kegs.
Once you know what size kegs you are using, then you can do some estimating to figure out how many you will need. You take into account thenumber of beers you’ll put out in the market and the volume of beer you will sell. Keep in mind you need to have enough kegs to allow some to be out at retailers and distributors, some waiting to be cleaned and filled, and some full of beer ready to go out to market.
The next step is to decide if you are going to buy or lease your kegs. There are keg leasing companies that “rent” you the empty kegs for a fee. You still have to clean, fill, and distribute them, but they worry about
getting the kegs back. Sounds nice, but it isn’t cheap either. Within two years, you’ve paid about the same as buying kegs. I think the reason many folks go this route is that they don’t have to come up with the money for the kegs all at once, they don’t have to worry about getting kegs back from some distant
account, and if kegs go missing or get damaged while out in the marketplace, that is not the brewery’s expense either.
If you want to buy kegs, they are available new or used. New is pretty straightforward. There are several great manufacturers and you just need to get a quote and pay the money. Oh, wow, a bit more than you
anticipated? Yes, stainless kegs are not cheap, but they last nearly forever. An interesting alternative these days is plastic kegs. You can find plastic kegs at half the price of stainless, but the reviews seem mixed at this point. Some brewers like them for their low price, light weight, and the fact that people won’t steal them for scrap metal. Others worry about their durability and how sanitary the interior plastic welds might be.
And then there is the used keg market. The used market is quite active and you can get a decent discount, but even then, it costs quite a bit to buy a large supply of kegs. If you do find some kegs that you want to
buy, often there are three other breweries interested in them too. You need to move quick and have your money ready when buying used kegs. The other issue with used kegs is that you often don’t get to inspect them before purchasing. Once you buy them you are on the hook for cleaning them and making sure they are ready for service.
And getting a keg ready for service goes beyond just cleaning them. You’ll need to inspect them, clean and sanitize them, but you also need to remove any other brewery markings, mark the kegs as your own, serialize them, and put the right federal and state warnings on them. Just a little warning sticker can cost you $0.50 per keg. Add to that keg collars and caps with your logo on them, getting federal approval for the collars, and you can see where your time spent getting beer in kegs can really add up.