Discussion
Keg seems to be making a big come back in the craft ale sector, often sold alongside cask beer in 'drinking' pubs
What I fail to understand however is why they charge a £1 premium over cask when keg is easy to keep and has a long shelf life. Is it simply marketing or does it cost a lot more process and pasteurise?
Prompted to ask this after spending an afternoon in the Wylam Brewery tap in Newcastle over the weekend. Cask beers around £3.70 a pint and keg generally £4.70/pt
Any ideas?
What I fail to understand however is why they charge a £1 premium over cask when keg is easy to keep and has a long shelf life. Is it simply marketing or does it cost a lot more process and pasteurise?
Prompted to ask this after spending an afternoon in the Wylam Brewery tap in Newcastle over the weekend. Cask beers around £3.70 a pint and keg generally £4.70/pt
Any ideas?
No, it's just an alternative to the cask beers they also sell.
That said, in the case of Wylam, it's not sold alongside a cask version of the same beer. What they do is have around 6 of their brews as cask and a further 10 of their brews as keg served via fonts on the wall behind the bar but you can't buy the same version in keg or visa versa in the same outlet.
The keg beers do tend to be stronger, one of them is 9%. They do a lovely American style IPA called Jakeshead which is 6.3% and only made as a keg beer.
That said, in the case of Wylam, it's not sold alongside a cask version of the same beer. What they do is have around 6 of their brews as cask and a further 10 of their brews as keg served via fonts on the wall behind the bar but you can't buy the same version in keg or visa versa in the same outlet.
The keg beers do tend to be stronger, one of them is 9%. They do a lovely American style IPA called Jakeshead which is 6.3% and only made as a keg beer.
Well as you say in your original post I don't think there is a significantly increased cost with the storage and dispensing method that justifies the extra price, and as you say waste will be less, if anything.
More likely the beer itself is being marketed as a premium product, rightly or wrongly.
There is also an argument around the production cost of the beer - higher alcohol content beers are more expensive to produce as there is more grain per litre and also fermentation will generally take longer. Trendy 'craft' beers also tend to use huge quantities of exotic imported hops which are in high demand - the hop cost for a 'craft' brew can easily be five times that for a traditional English cask type ale.
Also cask beer can't be carbonated to any great extent which goes against the current fashions.
More likely the beer itself is being marketed as a premium product, rightly or wrongly.
There is also an argument around the production cost of the beer - higher alcohol content beers are more expensive to produce as there is more grain per litre and also fermentation will generally take longer. Trendy 'craft' beers also tend to use huge quantities of exotic imported hops which are in high demand - the hop cost for a 'craft' brew can easily be five times that for a traditional English cask type ale.
Also cask beer can't be carbonated to any great extent which goes against the current fashions.
...not quite, some of the keg beers are lower gravity than their parallel sold cask beers but still command a £1 premium. There's not actually much difference in price between the low gravity beers of around 4% and the Jakeshead for example.
I'm wondering whether it's the set up cost of pasteurising and chilling plant? Production costs are possibly higher for keg even though they have a longer shelf life.
PS: all of the Wylam beers are highly hopped, in common with current trends
I'm wondering whether it's the set up cost of pasteurising and chilling plant? Production costs are possibly higher for keg even though they have a longer shelf life.
PS: all of the Wylam beers are highly hopped, in common with current trends
There are a few brewers out there who have been saying that cask beers are underpriced rather than the keg ones over-priced .... and a couple have decided not to brew cask in the future as the margins are too tight.
https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2017/1...
Maybe too many of these new start-up breweries are buying brand new, sparkling stainless steel brewing kit rather than buying second-hand (or fabricating their own, in the case of a couple I know), and are not starting on a modest scale and getting bigger when volumes allow it. Breweries have made money from cask beer for many generations, and the new era of breweries have done so for 40+ years.
https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2017/1...
Maybe too many of these new start-up breweries are buying brand new, sparkling stainless steel brewing kit rather than buying second-hand (or fabricating their own, in the case of a couple I know), and are not starting on a modest scale and getting bigger when volumes allow it. Breweries have made money from cask beer for many generations, and the new era of breweries have done so for 40+ years.
It's mainly down to the cost of making the beer.
Keg beers tend to be higher ABV, so production cost are higher, and as you've mentioned, a lot of craft brewers these days, Wylam included, use more exotic, and mixed hop profiles, which again comes at a cost.
There's always a debate about Cloudwater beer, sometimes knocking on £10 a pint, but they did a very good £ per ABV analysis to disprove the accusation of ripping people off, the sum was %ABV ÷ £ = £/%ABV. Original tweet that sparked the reaction - https://twitter.com/cloudwaterbrew/status/93431436...
Keg beers tend to be higher ABV, so production cost are higher, and as you've mentioned, a lot of craft brewers these days, Wylam included, use more exotic, and mixed hop profiles, which again comes at a cost.
There's always a debate about Cloudwater beer, sometimes knocking on £10 a pint, but they did a very good £ per ABV analysis to disprove the accusation of ripping people off, the sum was %ABV ÷ £ = £/%ABV. Original tweet that sparked the reaction - https://twitter.com/cloudwaterbrew/status/93431436...
Bradgate said:
It's entirely about marketing.
So-called 'craft' keg beers are marketed as a 'premium' product at a higher price point to cask ales. The target market is younger drinkers who are fashion and image conscious.
It's also about price fixing, there's a really interesting article, that I can't find at the moment about companies like Budweiser and Millers buying craft breweries, increasing the prices and marketing as a premium product, so they can sell their premium lager at a higher price point vs. stuff like Carling.So-called 'craft' keg beers are marketed as a 'premium' product at a higher price point to cask ales. The target market is younger drinkers who are fashion and image conscious.
Could also just be supply and demand - the demand for warm, flat, oxidised beer isn't that great.
Most people are either after bland cooking lager or 'craft' beers. The latter cost quite a lot to produce.
I'm not sure all beer that goes in a keg is pasteurised either btw, it certainly doesn't need to be.
Most people are either after bland cooking lager or 'craft' beers. The latter cost quite a lot to produce.
I'm not sure all beer that goes in a keg is pasteurised either btw, it certainly doesn't need to be.
Jambo85 said:
I'm not sure all beer that goes in a keg is pasteurised either btw, it certainly doesn't need to be.
It isn't. I was talking to the owner of this brewery, who runs a pub near me. http://www.nelsonbrewery.co.uk/I'd wondered why his pub had 1 cask ale to 3-4 keg beers and 2 lagers.
Alot of these are actually Keykegs. They differ in that the beer is within a pouch within the barrel and the beer is forced out by a small air compressor. The air never actually never touches the beer so it doesn't have tendency to sour. Along with most of them having a high alcohol content this means they have a relatively long shelf life compared to live cask beers. Also they are expensive, last week in Leeds we found one at over £9 for a 1/3 !!
mrtwisty said:
You've been frequenting the wrong real ale pubs my friend 
Probably, although my post was a bit tongue in cheek - it's the perception of many fellow 20-30 somethings these days but I like them. Two of my favourites are Old Peculier and London Pride. The latter is often in keg, well carbonated and fresh tasting... I do wonder though if for the most part the real ale producers have been doing a bit of a Kodak* and stuck their head in the sand, keeping things traditional, and selling very little at minimal margins as a result.Then the 'craft' producers come along also producing beer that tastes of something; applying some smart marketing; using recent technology to serve beer fresh, cold and well carbonated... the real breweries have missed a trick.
- I'm aware the Kodak story isn't that simple
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