University drinks to brewery project
Researchers at the University of Nottingham are investing in ways to keep track of missing beer casks to save the region's microbrewers thousands of pounds. It is estimated the problem costs the UK brewing industry £50m every year.
The university’s Food and Biofuel Innovation Centre has been commissioned by the East midlands' Food and Drink iNet to team up with the Derbyshire Brewers’ Collective.
University researchers will liaise with the collective in a bid to pinpoint the best approaches for tracking devices for the casks. The pair will also study ways to raise awareness about the problem in the hope that it will save the microbrewery industry thousands of pounds in the future.
Breweries are believed to lose up to 10 per cent of casks per year.
John Baldock, chairman of the Derbyshire Brewers’ Collective and a director at Derventio Brewery near Ashbourne, said: "Some casks can be stolen but more than likely they are lost – just left in yards, pubs and units, and not returned to their rightful owners. They could be there for ages. If you pay £74 to buy a cask and it gets left in someone’s back yard, you can’t use. It’s dead money.
"The upshot is that there are a lot of disgruntled small brewers who haven’t got their own casks in their own yards. A lot of it is down to the fact that many wholesalers, landlords and draymen just aren’t aware of the cost to a brewery of not returning casks."
