Retired Kegs.....How did you get yours?

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Wrecked

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Apr 13, 2010
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Location
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I am collecting the parts and pieces needed for my Mini-Brutus and I was wondering how most of you acquired your kegs? I called my local dist and they acted like I was crazy? Which I am, but that is a different story:ban:
 
i'm in the sam boat, unfortunately around here the meth head have gotten so bad that the scrap yards don't deal with kegs, they get crushed. (had the copper pipe stolen off the roof while i was at work.) i have been aswering watching ads on probrewer.com but everything that comes up is faaaaar away or bought up with in the hour.... :mad:
 
I think it depends on the distributor. Some are more than happy to help, if you are up front with your intentions. You have to keep in mind, though, that the distributors don't actually own the kegs, so they could theoretically get in trouble for selling them.
 
Distributors don't own the kegs the breweries do. Call up the breweries and see if they have any they want to replace.
 
I asked the scrap yard locally and the guys said they cannot buy them anymore due to the people stealing them form the brewery and selling them for scrap. I think it's a state law or something. I should call a few breweries and see what they say. Michigan Brewing Company makes a shtload of beer. I bet they eventually have a keg or two go bad.
 
I posted an ad on CL for kegs wanted, I met a guy in town, who works with a winery in New Mexico. I guess the winery bought a brewery that was bankrupt and aquired all of the kegs that were left behind (100's from what he said) I picked up three from him that are in near mint condition!
 
Not all breweries own their own kegs... Micro Star is a Keg manufaturer and many smaller breweries actually enter contracts with Micro Star for a set amount of kegs each year. Micro Star takes the task of tracking, referbishing and retiring those kegs.

Lazy Magnolia is my local Brewery and this is the system they use. I have the lead Brewer there checking with Micro Star to see what they do with their retired kegs and if they are willing to sell them to home brewers or not.

With that being said, I have been told not many kegs get retired... Most can be referbished rather easily and at a lower cost than replacing them. so getting your hands on a keg that has been retired by a brewery, distributor, manufacturer or leasing company is actually harder than it sounds!

I'd also like to add that Lazy Mag has purchased just over 2 thousand kegs in the last year and none of them are stainless steel. They are some new keg made of Polyurathane or something to prevent theft because they can't be used for home brewing.
 
Seems as though I may be s**t outa luck. I talked to the beer delivery guy in the grocery store parking lot and he told me that as far as he knows all their kegs are the "plastic" type:(

Oh well, I will just have to buy kettles to fit my needs:mug:
 
Become friends with the manager at Bevmo if you have one in your area and ask him if they ever get kegs returned that can't be shipped back to the distributor. I went in yesterday after months of looking and was surprised that he had 2 really nice kegs waiting for me.

I contacted Microstar a couple months back and was shot down when I asked if they sell old kegs to private individuals.
 
Become friends with the manager at Bevmo if you have one in your area and ask him if they ever get kegs returned that can't be shipped back to the distributor. I went in yesterday after months of looking and was surprised that he had 2 really nice kegs waiting for me.

Sweet deal!!

That is not a bad idea, I frequent a local package / liquor store looking for new microbrews to try. I think I will put a bug in the managers ear next time I am there.
 
Microstar is expensive and as a result aren't very widely used. They are used by a lot of medium sized craft breweries who don't have the space for keg storage. A lot of the smaller breweries buy used kegs from the big guys to start off and then down the line will either buy new kegs or work with a company like Microstar. My local has a number of retired kegs from Molson/Labbatt.
 
I got mine off craigslist. There are ads for kegs all the time ranging from $45-$75 each in my local area... however, I jumped on the one that said "2 for $20" :) Couldn't pass that up, even if they are from Bud & Coors lol :)
 
I have gotten several off of craigslist. Sometimes people will lose their deposit slip and the stores wont take them back. Usually they get posted on CL for 20-30 bucks. Just gotta be patient.
 
... They are some new keg made of Polyurathane or something to prevent theft because they can't be used for home brewing.

Homebrewers are an insignificant part of keg theft. The vast majority of keg theft is people taking them to scrap yards for cash, although many states are starting to pass laws requiring scrap yards to at least record IDs from people selling scrap, including kegs.

Note: This statement should not be construed as condoning keg theft by homebrewers. Just because we are an insignificant part of the problem doesn't mean we should do it.
 
I bought mine from craigslist from a guy who most likely stole them by not returning them for the deposit. And I sleep perfectly fine each night....except last night when my son was sick :D
 
Talk with you local HBS store--they sometimes know people with old kegs. There have been several on CL local to me recently--Maybe because its the end of spring semester and the dorms/frats have to clear everything out.

t
 
Homebrewers are an insignificant part of keg theft. The vast majority of keg theft is people taking them to scrap yards for cash, although many states are starting to pass laws requiring scrap yards to at least record IDs from people selling scrap, including kegs.

Note: This statement should not be construed as condoning keg theft by homebrewers. Just because we are an insignificant part of the problem doesn't mean we should do it.

You're right... I was just speaking on the context of this site and also when I was speaking with the brewer about it of course we were talking about homebrewing and that's how the reference to homebrewing came about.

Let's not forget the number of kegs used for BBQ grills and hot rod gas tanks. etc...
 
You're right... I was just speaking on the context of this site and also when I was speaking with the brewer about it of course we were talking about homebrewing and that's how the reference to homebrewing came about.

Let's not forget the number of kegs used for BBQ grills and hot rod gas tanks. etc...

Or this even... :)

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Seems as though I may be s**t outa luck.

Oh well, I will just have to buy kettles to fit my needs:mug:

No no.

You can do what I did. Call liquor stores (try the big ones, first) and explain to him the following. You are having a party this weekend. You have a friend that homebrews. You want to serve his homebrew this weekend but have nothing to serve it in. Request that they let you use a couple empty keg shells for the price of the deposits. Don't give them your name or number and pay with cash. That's how I got all three of mine. Pretty simple, right?

Everyone feel free to tell me that I suck because I'm the cause of rising beer prices.
 
Ive been keeping an eye on CL for mine, other than that Ive been talking to guys I know in local frats. I dont know a frat guy who would return a keg for a deposit when Im offering $5 more, its just math.
 
i bought my three kegs for 30 bucks apiece from a local bar i hang out at. there deposit is 30 bucks and as long as they sell a decent amount of kegs no one is the wiser
 
Regardless of theft rationalized by blah, blah, blah, I saw at least a half dozen kegs at my local recylcling center that they told me they were not allowed to sell.
 
I don't know how far you are from San Antonio, but I got my from a place that dealt in kegs here. He had like nine kegs full of five year old beer sitting out back. I had to lug them home, and drain, clean and cut them, but it was well worth it. About 30 bones apiece. He still had six when I left.
 
I came across several on ebay a while back... $25-$40 a piece, but shipping was a *****! I tried Michigan Brewing, scrap yards, and recycle centers for quite a while with no luck. I purchased 3 from 2 different sellers on ebay for around $250 in total after shipping. Seems like a lot, then look at the price of buying a quality 15 gallon SS pot... you will pay $250 minimum for ONE POT!
 
Somebody left it at my friends house and never came back for it. years passed and i started brewing and told him i could use that so he gave it to me
 
Funny timing on your post. I put a "WTB - Keg" ad on craigslist yesterday morning. By evening I had someone willing to sell one for $30. Picked it up today!
 
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