Buying beer from small breweries

In England, more and more people are purchasing 10L, 20L or 9 gallon barrels from their local small brewery. Mine offers a 72 pint barrel for £75, my local pub charges £2.40 for a pint of 3.8% bitter, and I had to take the first one back as it was distinctly sour. He uses customers to tell him when the beer is off and doesn't like it when they do. This is probably one of the best 3 pubs in the town, out of around 30.

25 pubs a week close in england, almost zero new ones open those that do are restaurants that tolerate a few ale drinkers.

Do you buy bulk commercial beer in America and Canada ?

Here in central NC there are a few craft breweries that sell directly to the public.
Anything from a growler (64oz jug) up to a full keg.

I know a guy that puts kegs of Sam Adams in his kegerator; so he must be able to buy straight from a distributor too.

Prices are decent, though not as low as homebrew.

Most if not all brewpubs sell at least growlers if not more. But the only brew on premises place near me closed a few years ago and they made extract beers that weren't that good.

Most of the people I've known (non-homebrewers) that have the ability to serve beer on tap, buy BMC and maybe a micro/import or two. But there isn't a huge selection of kegged import/micro beer readily available. At most liquor/beer stores that sell kegs, the selection is fairly limited to BMC products.

So, IOW, there isn't a big movement for Americans to be buying bulk beer to serve on tap in their homes. The average American still thinks beer is BMC and it's cheap both in the bar and in the shops.

Bob, what town are you in? I've heard this before about so many pubs closing in the UK. Why do you think that is? It's a shame.

My parents live five minutes from Bristol Brewing Company in Colorado Springs. Whenever I'm home, we usually pick up a keg there and have a throwdown. They sell their beer in the standard keg sizes, along with growlers. They'll also fill up your cornies for you. As long as it holds pressure and looks clean, they'll hook you up. If you're ever in town, make sure you pick up a Laughing Lab or a Bee Hive Honey Weizen (and definately don't miss their Cheyenne Canyon Pinon Nut Ale if they've got it).

I would love to be able to go to my local brewpub or local brewery and buy a keg. I would always have one on tap. But, it is illegal in Georgia (and many other states) for a brewery to sell directly to the consumer. If I want a keg from a local production brewer I have to get it from the beer store that has to get it from a distributor (adds $$$).

The Ninkasi Brewery here in Eugene will fill a corny keg for $40.

Must be a state to state thing. Stone sells kegs of all different sizes. Most of the other breweries sell direct as well, but I know there are some legal definitions like Brewery, brewpub, and other variations that affect what you can do.
I wish you could take a clean corny in and have it filled straight from the bright tanks, but I haven't found anyone that will do that yet.

In Oklahoma it's really hard. There are a few places that brew their own.... and I mean a FEW. German restaurants and I know of two other places. You may bring your own Tupperware, boot, growler, etc. But as far as I know there is NO place to do such a thing in the Oklahoma City METRO area. Then again our laws on alcohol are very antiquated. Anything over 3.2% by volume must be sold in a liquor store, or consumed on the premises of the bar.

Remind me to never move to OK or UT