The plastics packaging industry seems to be making progress in developing more commercially-successful applications for the beer industry.The other day I blogged about China's expanding capacity of PET beer bottles. Today I heard an Aussie company Alternative Plastics is molding beer kegs out of polypropylene.The company says on its web site:Heineken beer systems recognized the potential of the small beer keg market and with help of our global supplier Quadrant developed a new tapping system.The advantage to the consumer is that the beer stays fresh for 30 days after it has been initially tapped. This conservation period is currently unique for a beer tapping system operating independently.
It didn't say how many of these kegs the company is supplying Heineken right now.After some research online, a story on PRW.com said the world's first barrier PET beer keg actually came out last year:Carlsberg has launched the worlds first barrier PET keg for beer, its patented DraughtMaster system. The sealed system allows no oxygen to enter the keg, which can keep the beer fresh for up to 21 days from first serve, said Carlsberg. When beer is poured, the keg is compressed, leaving no room for surplus oxygen. The brewery said that smaller bars and restaurants usually stock bottled beer because of longer shelf life. Carlsberg chief executive Nils Andersen said: We want to make cold and fresh draught beer accessible to any size of outlet from bars and restaurants to hotels.A home version of DraughtMaster will also be launched.
Yet, another article suggests plastic beer keg was invented much earlier. The article was published in 1988 and it says Golden, Colo.-based Coors introduced a plastic Party Ball -- an amber-tinted, transluscent, spherical alternative to the heavy metal keg consumers pick up and return, usually at a beverage distribution center. I didn't see what type of plastic was used for the party ball.Looks like the new PP keg can keep beer fresh for 9 days longer than Carlberg's PET version. The components of the new tapping system are also made of plastics.
Photos coutersy of Alternative Plastics Web site