Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Keg Float and Shrinkage

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Keg Float and Shrinkage

    How many kegs do you need to own compared to sales?
    Is there a general formula for small breweries (10 BBL) using a distibuter v. self distibuting? What shrinkage do you see in your keg inventory?
    Cheers!

  • #2
    I think numbers can vary greatly depending on how you use them. A full batch yields me 14 bbls, I have 8 year-around products, 4 seasonal and specilaties on tap at a time. My serving room consists of 3-15bbls tanks and 7-7bbl tanks (one which doesn't function properly and I use for aging big beers iebarleywine/imperial stouts ect) so kegs are a nessacry evil to our establishment. I do self distribute but not on large scale. I have somewhere around 100 kegs but mainly for inhouse use.

    From what I've heard about a distributing brewery is you should have 3 times the kegs as accounts, especially when you are working with a distributor.
    Cheers,
    Mike Roy
    Brewmaster
    Franklins Restaurant, Brewery & General Store
    5123 Baltimore Ave
    Hyattsville,MD 20781
    301-927-2740

    Franklinsbrewery.com
    @franklinsbrwry
    facebook.com/franklinsbrewery

    Comment


    • #3
      Assume 10% shrinkage per year and hope for better. If you care, be on top of your retailers/wholesalers.

      Comment


      • #4
        hi,

        i have heard approx 1/3 out in the market at tap accounts, 1/3 at the brewery for filling (or filled) and 1/3 somewhere in between (i.e. with distributors).

        it will depend greatly on how many tap accounts you have and how far away they are. so, if you are going to sell say 100/wk, you should own at least 300 or so, but be prepared to buy more at short notice if required. and you do need to try and keep tabs on where they are going - a bit tedious withouth barcodes, etc, but it can be done.

        cheers,

        alex

        Comment


        • #5
          If you want to keep tabs on your individual kegs, I found using number stamps to indent the digits into the top valve lip of the keg works well. McMaster-Carr did it for me again.

          Comment


          • #6
            same as Alex, I have heard 3-4 kegs per customer, 1 on tap, one ready to go, one on the way back and one being cleaned.

            Comment


            • #7
              In our experience, it seems we need about 5 kegs per handle for outside sales. In order to ensure smooth operation, I have always figured the following: 1 keg on tap at the retail establishment, 1 keg at the wholesaler, 1 keg filled at the brewery, 1 keg empty in transit (somewhere between tavern, wholesaler, return freight) back to the brewery, 1 keg empty waiting to be washed and/or filled at the brewery. Missing a keg in any of these positions ultimately seems to cause problems. I think everyone's experience differs because of: velocity of your beer's sales, number of beers produced, number of retail establishments, and number of wholesalers.

              As far as shrinkage, we appear to have been losing approx. 5% per year over the last 5 years. Hope that helps!

              Comment

              Working...
              X