Keg Thefts Could Drive Up Cost Of Beer Last Update: Jun 8, 2007 12:22 AM
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First it was copper theft, then aluminum siding, now thieves are lifting beer kegs and selling them for profit.
Brewers and distributors say the kegs are often sold to scrapyards, to cash in on the rising value of scrap metals.
One Midwest beer wholesaler estimates his company is losing $400,000 a year due to missing kegs.
They're precious cargo filled with Cincinnati-brewed beer, and the kegs cost Barrel House Brewing company about $175 a piece to replace.
The company has fewer kegs this year, because thieves are stealing them and selling them to scrapyards.
"What's happened is most places are 10 to 20 dollar deposits and the price of the keg has gone up above that in the scrapyards," said Rick DeBar, Barrel House Brewing Company.
Thieves can make about a $25 profit off one keg. Distributors say they're either taking them from outside of bars and restaurants or consumers who borrow them for beer end up selling them instead of returning them.
"It's very difficult for us to allow people to take kegs out or to put kegs out on the market and not recover them and have a loss of $175 to try to absorb into our costs," said DeBar.
Most kegs are clearly marked, and they're the legal property of the brewer.
A local distributor recently got ripped off and tracked down the scrap yard that illegally bought its kegs.
"Most of the scrapyards don't like to see this happen either," said George Fisher, beer distributor. "They want to be a legitimate business and not participate and that kind of stuff, but eventually we found them at one of these places that did not want to be legitimate."
Distributors say ultimately consumers will pay the price.
"If the costs for the industry rise because these kegs are stolen, then eventually the costs to the distributor will go up and then to the end user to the beer drinker," said Fisher.
Beer wholesalers say they could charge a higher deposit fee to try to create more of an incentive for people to return kegs. But, they say the main problem is the scrapyards who buy them illegally, creating incentive for people to steal.
The Ohio House recently sent a bill to committee aimed at stopping the recent rise of scrap metal thefts across the state. It would require anyone selling copper wiring, catalytic converters, or aluminum siding to show a photo ID.
(Video at website)