{"id":91733,"date":"2018-04-05T07:55:04","date_gmt":"2018-04-05T13:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.craftbeer.com\/?p=91733"},"modified":"2019-06-10T09:40:38","modified_gmt":"2019-06-10T15:40:38","slug":"costly-stray-beer-kegs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.craftbeer.com\/craft-beer-muses\/costly-stray-beer-kegs","title":{"rendered":"The Pesky, Costly Life of Stray Beer Kegs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Walk into any brewery taproom, bar or restaurant and you\u2019ll likely overhear a beer fan ask: \u201cWhat do you have on tap?\u201d There\u2019s something special about beer fresh from the tap. Draft beer accounts for more than 40 percent of sales according to a recent report<\/a> from the Brewers Association, publishers of CraftBeer.com.<\/p>\n

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(MORE: <\/strong>Glitter Beer Sparkles as Spring\u2019s Craft Beer Trend<\/strong><\/a>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

As much as you think about the taste of beer in your glass, we bet you haven\u2019t given a ton of thought to the world of beer keg management — and it\u2019s a complicated one. Kegs are expensive equipment, especially for small and independent breweries who operate on lean budgets. But they\u2019re also easily misplaced, lost, and sometimes even stolen. It\u2019s a pesky, costly life for stray beer kegs.<\/p>\n

Beer Kegs Get Lost Easily<\/h2>\n

\"Stray
Chicago’s Burger Bar sets up a ‘Keg Cemetery.’ (Matt Powers)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

First, consider that new kegs can cost upwards of $100. A pallet of 18 half-barrel commercial kegs can run a brewery<\/a> at least $2,000, if not close to $3,000. The constant rotation of kegs from brewery to bar and back again means a brewery must possess enough kegs to satisfy the needs of its many customers. In short, keg purchases comprise a sizable portion of a brewery\u2019s budget. That\u2019s why breweries treat kegs almost as prized possessions.<\/p>\n

“Keg loss is a big deal,\u201d explains Dan Vorlage, vice president of marketing and business development at MicroStar Logistics. MicroStar is a Denver-based company that\u2019s spent 20 years helping manage keg needs for breweries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith craft beer sales north of 24 million barrels, that\u2019s an $11 million to $33 million hit each year,” Vorlage says.<\/p>\n

Ryan Rafferty, distributor sales support manager at Denver\u2019s Great Divide Brewing<\/a> admits, \u201cWe have lost plenty of our own kegs over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n

It might be easy to blame the brewery\u2019s infamous \u201cYeti,\u201d but Great Divide is not alone. Charlotte Bodden, the taproom manager at Only Child Brewing<\/a> in Gurnee, Illinois, takes every step possible to prevent losing a keg.<\/p>\n

“We\u2019ll rent kegs to individuals for parties, but we have them pay a substantial keg deposit,\u201d she tells us. \u201cI take as much info as possible and make it very clear that we will not tolerate kegs not being returned.”<\/p>\n

Irresponsible renters is one thing, but how is it so easy for breweries and bars to misplace kegs? How can something get shipped from a brewery to a bar and never return?<\/p>\n

“Kegs get lost any number of ways,\u201d Vorlage explains. \u201cWhile sometimes theft is involved (kegs get turned into home-brew kits, lawn ornaments, coffee tables, etc.), often times simple mistaken identity is the culprit. A distributor grabs the wrong empty keg by mistake, sends it to the wrong brewer.\u201d Vorlage explained that by the time a brewery discovers it possesses a stray keg, it\u2019s already paid the $30 deposit for the keg.<\/p>\n

Returning Stray Kegs<\/h2>\n

Tracking and returning kegs to the rightful owner, as well as buying, transporting and maintaining one’s kegs, can prove costly for a brewery, which is where MicroStar intervenes.<\/p>\n

“MicroStar works with the Brewers Association to find the biggest pools of these stray kegs \u2026 pays the deposits for these stray kegs, and coordinates their delivery to our facility in Green Bay. Once there, MicroStar does all the work to try to get the kegs back home,” Vorlage explains.<\/p>\n

And unlike many breweries where space is at a premium, the expansive MicroStar warehouse spans 100,000 square feet and, Vorlage adds, \u201cWe typically have around 200,000 kegs in our warehouse in Green Bay. Pretty crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n