People are stealing empty kegs for the scrap metal value. It's becoming quite the problem. A reader sent the story to me. I can't find a link, so you'll have to take my word for it (like I'd make-up such a sad and disturbing story). Excerpt:
Kegs are a tempting target, not only because they contain quality stainless steel, nickel and chrome, but also because they are easy to carry and can be readily found in storage sheds, behind liquor stores, or right under the counter of a neighborhood bar. For microbrewers, which sell about half their beer on tap in brew pubs, keg pilferage from their customers' taverns is so bad that even bartenders can't be trusted. Warren Dibble, chief financial officer of Boston's Harpoon Brewery, suspects that some tavern owners are letting employees sell empties on the side "as part of their compensation."
With rising metals prices, it's not a bad fringe benefit. Just a few years ago, scrap yards paid only about $5 a keg. But prices are as high as $21 now in some parts of the country.
The cost of a new keg, meanwhile, has also tripled, to about $90. That's a headache for specialty brewers like Kansas City's Boulevard Brewing, which started in 1989 to brew Belgian-style pilseners and ales. The 40,000 kegs in Boulevard's inventory represented more than 20% of the brewer's fixed assets in 2004.
