Opinions on this pot please

[BeerCrazy]

Just some info... my local beer store charges a $50 deposit and gives you 30 days to return the keg. He told me if I brought the keg back after 30 days he wouldn't take it!

With that said... I've never had a keg longer than a weekend, so I've always got my deposit back!

Who owns the keg after 30 days then? One could argue that this is a whole backward fluster cluck called the three tier system...

 

[Sawdustguy]

Who owns the keg after 30 days then? One could argue that this is a whole backward fluster cluck called the three tier system...

No matter how you cut the dice it's stealing. I am sure you wouldn't like a neighbor borrowing a tool and saying well I've had the tool for more than 30 days, I guess it's mine now.

 

[starrfish]

OK just bit the bullet:
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=2321

no stealing no cutting no fitting a lid. no bs 10 gallon pot with a lid in stainless. bit thin but stainless.

talked to a neighbor to cut keg he would charge $10 and no lid.

found a sweet deal on kegerator $100 on craigslist w/single tap tower... may need advice on expanding to 2 tapper but bit the bullet on 10 gal econ pot to gear up for all grain

merry xmas to ME!

 

[springer]

Who owns the keg after 30 days then? One could argue that this is a whole backward fluster cluck called the three tier system...

the brewery ...

 

[mmurray]

the brewery ...

That's exactly my point! I wasn't condoning stealing a keg... but if I had the keg longer than 30 days and the distributor won't take it back, what the hell is a person supposed to do?

Drive from south Mississippi to St. Louis, or Milwaukee or Boston... etc. etc. etc.? I know I could easily bring it back to Lazy Mag but they are just up the road... I could bring Abita's back because they are close enough...

But what about the others?

 

[springer]

I have no BMC type breweries near me either. I just took it to the local distributor not the retail distributor but the ones that do all the deliveries to the bars and stores and just left it on their loading after the dock manager said he wouldn't take it, where it went after that I don't care.And since I didn't pay the deposit It made no difference to me.

 

[Guinness]

the brewery ...

Agreed, but it's certainly a bit of a screw up. I wonder if the breweries know their distributors are getting in the way of them having their kegs returned?

I wondered if the same situation occurred here, and quick check of kijijii shows me a Guinness keg for sale or trade. Asked the guy, and he paid deposit, but he can't find anyone to take it back. I think he's well within his right to sell it, and I might buy it! OTOH you've got a point springer, he's selling something that's not his. I dunno, I'm confused

I'm not sure if this is still on topic or not!

 

[BeerCrazy]

Exactly. Maybe the brewery should either charge the distributor a replacement cost deposit or require that any keg returned to them be bought back at deposit price. If that happened, it is a black and white issue. Right now I'm enjoying this gray area to my hearts content. I even keg in 1/6 bbls instead of cornys. 1/4 bbls make nice fermenters and 1/2 bbls make good pots.

 

[beerlover69]

so is it considered stealing a keg when u ask a friend at work if he has any beer kegs he wants to get rid of and he says yes I got 2. I say how much you want for them, he says my deposit of $15.00. But he says they are no good because they have no stickers.

 

[Yooper]

You know what? I'm sick of all the threads about people stealing kegs and then justifying it. I'm saddened by people who think that the milk crates by the back of the store are "free" and the kegs that are only $30 for the deposit.

If you steal, and aren't ashamed of yourself, at least have the decency not to brag about it!

NO more threads about stealing kegs please! You're a THIEF. You steal. Plain and simple.

No more threads about how it's ok- because it's not. And HBT will not allow those threads.

 

[olllllo]

I'm just pointing out that the whole keg deposit system and all is BS. Why not in an age of credit cards have a deposit cover replacement? If the deposits were really to cover a possible loss, companies that sold legal kegs in single or small quantities might have buyers...

In the age of the internet, you should look up the answer before you start posting flat-out wrong information and dubious ethical practices.



Stolen kegs have beer makers feeling tapped out

Craft brewers are anxious to solve the theft problem because as much as 40 percent of their business is tied up in keg sales, triple the industry average, said Ken Grossman, founder and owner of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

I don't care what people do.
My objections is that they post outright misinformation such as:

1. A deposit is a sale. They have my $30, so I bought it.
   Average $150 replacement fee. $30 doesn't begin to cover it.
2. It doesn't hurt breweries.
   40% of their business tied up in kegs, with 3% losses. I wouldn't want to give that money up. Would you?
3. It doesn't hurt the craft breweries if you only steal BMC kegs.
   It can take months to replace a keg. Shortages hurt everyone. Shortages drive up prices. Higher costs hurt smaller craft breweries disproportionately. In some cases shortages make kegs unavailable to smaller breweries for periods of time because kegs are provided to large volume contracts first.
4. It's not that big of a problem.
   300,000 kegs lost per year is a sizable problem that will get worse if SS prices remain high.
5. They (the brewery) should just raise the price of the deposit.
   It most cases, the deposit is a balance of the interests of the brewery, the distributor and sometimes the state. The brewery is not able to do this on their own.

This MSNBC story dispels these myths.


Want a smaller breweries opinion? How about The Bruery?
http://bruery.blogspot.com/2007/06/kegs.html

One solution is higher keg deposits. Current deposit amounts in California are about $15 per keg, about 10% of the cost of a replacement keg. This is not high enough to thwart theft, but charging $50 or even $100 is impractical when other brewers continue charging a nominal amount. Deposit fees are generally set by the big guys, as retailers don't see why craft brewers can charge $50 keg deposits while Budweiser is charging only $15 for the same keg. As a large multinational corporation, Budweiser and other large brewers are better able to absorb the cost than the local craft brewer. Many retailers are just concerned with cost, and charging a higher keg deposit makes craft beer a less profitable prospect as it ties up their cash.

Again. I don't care what people do as long as they don't use this board to substitute their opinions for facts in an attempt to justify their behavior.