Any beer drinker who has hung out at a bar during the day has likely experienced the familiar sight of stainless-steel kegs being loaded off a delivery truck, transferred to a handcart, wheeled past the bar to a cold box (hopefully), and deposited with an unmistakable thunderous metal clang. It’s just the way it is for draft beer in the United States, or at least that’s largely been the case for decades. More and more, however, that clang is replaced by a softer thump as brewers across the country look to incorporate one-way kegs made from plastic into their distribution arsenal.
Companies such as Petainer and KeyKeg have made strides across America in recent years, pushing a dispense method that has long been popular in Europe and other foreign countries.
“Many breweries start using PET kegs when they begin transporting their products over longer distances, both domestically and overseas, because [the kegs] cut the logistics costs in half and also provide excellent product-quality protection,” says Nigel Pritchard, group commercial director for Petainer.