Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22
Page 23
Page 24
Page 25
Page 26
Page 27
Page 28
Page 29
Page 30
Page 31
Page 32
Page 33
Page 34
Page 35
Page 36
Page 37
Page 38
Page 39
Page 40
Page 41
Page 42
Page 43
Page 44
Page 45
Page 46
Page 47
Page 48
Page 49
Page 50
Page 51
Page 52
Page 53
Page 54
Page 55
Page 56
Page 57
Page 58
Page 59
Page 60
Page 61
Page 62
Page 63
Page 64
Page 65
Page 66
Page 67
Page 68
Page 69
Page 70
Page 71
Page 72
Page 73
Page 74
Page 75
Page 76
38 BREWING BEVERAGE INDUSTRIES BUSINESS Cask Keg Cask design has not changed a great deal from the introduction of aluminium cask in 1949. Although aluminium production ceased in 2002 and has now been completely replaced by stainless steel or plastic the cask specification remains today much as it did then. Each individual manufacturer is producing its products to designs that are governed by the restraints set by their manufacturing plant and equipment together with technical specifications governed by the major breweries and industry associations. Although some breweries are still using the aluminium cask and keg to hold and deliver their quality beers it would be mindful to remember the interior lacquer had a 12-year usable lifespan and all aluminium products should now be inspected internally prior to use or discarded. With the expansion of small breweries not only in the United Kingdom but in all parts of Europe the demand for stainless steel casks is forever growing and small brewers are now experimenting with their cask ales being prepared for keg dispense. This has in turn increased demand for stainless steel plastic and one-trip kegs. However with this change a new challenge presents itself as many traditional cask brewers only have cleaning and filling equipment for cask products and have little or no facility to clean or fill the kegs. There is a high cost in the tooling required to remove and service the down tubes together with a requirement for training and technical support. During the last few years many highly skilled technical experts have retired or changed employment leaving the small brewers without the necessary technical support they could really utilise. One benefit that has arisen due to the increase in demand is that asset finance companies are now prepared to lease casks and kegs at reasonable rates therefore removing the need for breweries to invest large capital sums and spread the cost of off book assets something which was unthinkable a few years ago. So for the many established breweries and the new breweries that are opening each month casks and kegs are now readily available in which ever format they would like to choose in their particular choice of core material and a choice of purchase hire purchase or leasing. Justin Raines Crusader Kegs Casks Ltd More container options than ever RFID the Do you recognise the conversation Sales Great news guys wholesaler x has just placed an order for 90 casks for delivery next week Brewing Team But we dont have enough casks to fulfil the order Sales Well we had loads of casks last week thats why I took the order Brewing Team Yes but we have been double brewing to meet current demand Sales We cant let the customer down so what are you going to do to find the casks It is a conversation almost as old as brewing itself - sales are focused on increasing sales revenue while the brewing team is focused on brewing great beer and controlling cask costs how often do the two sides of the same business not appear to be on the same page Have you ever really asked yourself why caskskegs are in short supply within your brewery You have enough in your population however time and time again you appear to be low on containers meaning that you have to send your drays out into the field to purely uplift containers A costly gamble at the best of times. The BBPA states that as an industry we lose over 50000000 worth of casks kegs every year which at current market value is an estimated 961500 casks and kegs that are being lost annually. This is nothing new and as such most breweries that Ive visited have some form of tracking and traceability within their supply chain ranging from the trusted pen and paper to excel and barcode scanning. It is though really only the biggest breweries that have invested in RFID radio-frequency identification scanning technology. The question is why Continued opposite www.crusaderkegsandcasks.com For more information visit 38_Layout 1 21042016 1418 Page 1