Fresher beer, reduced carbon footprint: AB InBev rolls out locally-recyclable polymer keg

19 Jun 2019 --- AB InBev has launched a polymer keg that quadruples the time beer in the keg stays palatable once it has been opened compared to a traditional steel keg while also significantly reducing the logistical carbon footprint. Launched through its Global Innovation and Technology Center (GITEC), AB InBev’s PureDraught polymer keg system comes in 6L, 12L and 18L sizes rather than the standard 30L or larger steel keg size, allowing for more flexibility and less wasted product for bar and restaurant owners.

While beer delivered in a traditional steel keg is still preferred for beers produced and consumed locally or regionally, this preference produces a number of costly logistical and environmental issues that are magnified when shipped internationally.

First, there’s the expense of the keg itself, then that of shipping it to its destination via ocean vessel, locating and returning it via that same vessel months later, as well as the impact on the global carbon footprint of moving heavy steel kegs across the globe twice. Meanwhile, once the beer is tapped at its destination, the clock starts ticking on the beer’s peak freshness of 7 to 10 days.

AB InBev’s GITEC division offers a solution to both problems with PureDraught. Using a custom-molded, double-walled, bottle-in-bottle polymer keg, PureDraught allows air or gas to be fed into the outer bottle, which keeps its shape and pushes the beer out of the inner bottle.

This innovation prevents any air or dispense gas from touching the beer, allowing the beer to remain fresh for 30 days after being tapped instead of just a week. In markets where an international beer brand might not turn over as quickly as a domestic brand, that’s a significant difference in quality-preservation for customers.PureDraught prevents any air or dispense gas from touching the beer, allowing it to remain fresh for 30 days after being tapped instead of just a week.

“From a development standpoint, we had to bring on-board a lot of competencies from the soft drink industry to develop PureDraught. We’re blow-molding these kegs and then filling them in-line. There’s also a lot of technology in the polymer itself to make the keg a reality, including oxygen scavenging and light barriers,” Daniel Ingram, Global Director of Draught Capabilities at AB InBev, tells PackagingInsights.

“In addition, we had to design a new keg coupler and we spent a considerable amount of time in the US market testing, redesigning and redeveloping the coupler to guarantee its durability under even the harshest conditions at a bar, and to make it as easy as a traditional keg coupler is to use,” Ingram adds.

The polymer kegs are intended to be recycled. They cannot be reused, as air or gas in the outer bottle causes the inner bottle to change shape as it pushes the beer into the tap line. This also prevents any counterfeiting or refilling of the keg. The kegs can also be stored and dispensed from upright or on their side on a shelf, making them more versatile.

“For bar or restaurant owners, PureDraught means no keg deposits, less waste, right-sized products for beers with slower turnover, more efficient storage, and no reverse logistics of returning a keg – they can simply put the used kegs in their local recycling bin, reducing the carbon footprint of the process considerably,” Ingram explains.

“On the logistics front, PureDraught eliminates half of the process and half of the carbon footprint, since there’s no need to track down empty kegs and ship them back. The empty kegs are simply recycled locally. Also, full PureDraught kegs are lighter than their steel counterparts, reducing shipping costs on the way to their destination,” he says.

There are no additional costs for a hospitality business to use the PureDraught system or the beer in the one-way kegs, and in most markets, the system’s custom keg coupler is provided and connected to a bar’s existing beer and gas lines by AB InBev free of charge.

Ingram notes that AB InBev is committed to ensuring that the promise of recyclability of PureDraught kegs is kept, no matter what “market pressures” may exist in the recycling industry or the broader marketplace.

“Our ongoing work with third-party recyclers includes education to ensure the kegs are correctly processed when recycled. We are also driving change for the separate collection and sorting, not just of PureDraught kegs, but all similar materials collected at the point of sale,” he tells PackagingInsights.

Currently, PureDraught is in use with AB InBev brands in over six countries, including the US, Mexico, Brazil, China, Italy and South Korea. It also debuted in Colombia and additional areas of Europe, Africa and Japan this spring. PureDraught will be rolling out nationwide in the US later this year, providing for a range of brands including Stella Artois.

By Joshua Poole