Kegwatch: a view from a micro-brewer

Kegwatch, of course, has helped reduce the theft of valuable stainless steel containers significantly.

One estimate puts the reduction at over 50% since the organisation was formed. When the value of the stainless steel often exceeds the value of the beer within the container, all breweries are concerned about the care and safety of theses containers.

Where a pub has closed, containers may not be picked up during the normal routine of delivery, and equally a change of supply arrangements may also see certain containers remain at a premises and in these cases containers are at risk of theft.

However, I question the validity of Kegwatch when dealing with microbrewers containers in situations where pubs are only in a very short management transitory situation.

Often leased pubs will undergo a rapid and sudden change of lessee. The property owner or incoming licensee will wish a backlog of casks and kegs to be quickly removed from the establishment.

Kegwatch appear to be rather too eager to respond to requests to clear the back yard, using the excuse that they are looking to protect the containers from unscrupulous theft.

Wasted journey​

I have recently been a victim of this beer container reclamation enthusiasm by Kegwatch and the matching enthusiasm of the property that was undergoing management changes. We travelled some significant distance to reclaim our own property not realising that Kegwatch had already been called.

We missed our casks by what appears to be less than a day. The result was a wasted journey and the likelihood of a further journey of five hours round trip and £70 of fuel costs to collect from Keg Watch depot. The pub had been closed for less than 2 weeks.

The confusion has now been cleared up with this particular situation, to the credit of Kegwatch.

This all leads me to think that the Landlord of the pub was a little too eager to call in Kegwatch simply to clear a few casks that he didn't want to spend the time finding out who they belonged to, or leaving enough time for the true owners to recover.

Please, new licensees and pub property owners alike, where there are casks from microbreweries involved please give us a chance to clear up your back yard before calling in Kegwatch.

Dave Bailey runs the HardKnott brewery in Cumbria​