It might be a good idea for Bob Proctor (The dangers of jumping on a craft beer bandwagon, Letters, 4 February) to check with his local pub’s landlord and find out what container this “overpriced craft beer” comes in. If it is a KeyKeg, a disposable, plastic pressurised container often used by small independent brewers, it would explain the price increase. Beer is delivered in a cask or keg, both either steel or, more recently, hard plastic. These are both expected to be returned to the brewery, which will reuse them. KeyKegs are non-returnable, so the cost of packaging must be passed on to the pub, which then passes the cost on to the consumer. If you understand the difference between beer and cask-conditioned real ale, look into KeyKegs: they may seem like the enemy, but they’re doing real ale a real favour.
Chris Gent
Stockport
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