Station Pizzeria is reporting that 8 to 12 empty kegs were stolen from the establishment on Thursday night. Each keg is valued at approximately $50.
Caylee Betts of Station Pizzeria said that it is illegal for metal recycling companies to buy the empty kegs so she hopes the thieves will choose to return the kegs anonymously when they realize they can't do anything with them.
If the pizzeria doesn't recover the kegs they will likely have to pay the respective breweries approximately $1500, said Betts.
Betts asks that people keep an eye out for the kegs, which she expects will probably end up in a local dumpster.
Editor's note: The body of the text was changed at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday to match the original subhead, which said that 8-12 kegs were stolen.
Why is there a keg shortage?
First, vast majority of Beer Sales (BMC = Bud, Miller, Coors) are NOT growing, and don't match what liquor or wine sales have done during the downturn. Craft Beers are in fact growing strongly. But craft beer is only 5-10% of total beer sales. One of the barrel sizes they use 1/4 barrel, used to be predominant in soft drinks (premix and postmix tanks). In terms of demand, they are almost non-existent. The big reason however, was already identified....the resale value of the metal for 1/2 barrel kegs, to unscrupulous metal recyclers. This is why you hear of thieves cutting padlocks, and breaking into beer production facilities.