Missing or stolen kegs add to the pressure created by the steady growth of craft brewing over the last four years, which has resulting in a particular need for the 1/6 keg size, both by the breweries themselves and from bars and restaurants which are adding larger draught capacity and want quicker turn-over. And, smaller breweries move into new and more distant markets, the number of kegs they own which are in distribution means they must purchase more to maintain current markets. Some estimates suggest that every keg shipped out requires at least one, and probably two, in inventory to avoid running short.

Cooperage costs for U.S. brewers have also been affected by the withdrawal of Spartanburg Stainless, the South Carolina-based keg manufacturer which was the country's largest supplier, from the market in 2006, in order to concentrate its efforts on its core business. That loss was only temporary--the Spartanburg keg division was acquired by the Franke Group last November and will return to the market this summer--but did mean that most kegs for the U.S. market had to be imported from Europe for the last several months.

Considering that current prices for new kegs run somewhere around $110 for sixtels up to $150 or more for halves, all this is no small matter, for both the large national breweries as well as the crafts.

Some craft brewers have tried to deal with the problem by raising the deposit required for direct rental at the brewery as high as $100 per keg, an increase not met with great delight by consumers. And it is only a partial solution at best, since kegs sold through retail outlets are still sold at no more than $30 deposit rates, and usually at the standard $10, an amount not large enough to deter theft, whether to sell as scrap or use as a college dorm room coffee table.

One local brewery owner has decided to take matters into his own hands. John Giannopoulos, managing partner of Sly Fox Brewing, with a brewpub in Phoenixville and a production brewery and restaurant in Royersford, has formed a partnership which will begin manufacturing 1/6, tall quarter and half kegs (with a promise of firkins in the future) in China this summer, with the first products expected by Fall.

"I have 12 years experience as a manufacturer's rep sourcing both plastic and metal component parts and products out of China," Giannopoulos said in a story posted on the Sly Fox website. "We see ourselves as an alternative source for both the mainstream brewers and for smaller craft breweries, for whom we will offer the opportunity to purchase smaller quantities at fair and reasonable prices."

The new company, Geemacher LLC, was launched at the Craft Brewers Conference held in Austin, Texas, in April and is a partnership between Giannopoulos and Christian Messmacher. Kegs will be produced at an ISO-9200 certified stainless steel manufacturer in Penglai, located in northern China. Geemacher will maintain an inventory of unembossed kegs in the U.S. to handle lower minimum orders and is developing a processing for embossing those locally.--JACK CURTIN