PETpla.net Insider 04 / 2017

BOTTLE MAKING 21 PET planet Insider Vol. 18 No. 04/17 www.petpla.net PET kegs PET-a-Draft mini beer keg system Hendrik Lombard builds his own beer tap using PET bottles. His ver- sion of a mini keg set-up to serve home-made beer from 2l PET bot- tles. It solves a few issues for lovers of home-made and craft beer: Beer going flat once the growler has been opened. Having to clean and fill 48 bottles to store your batch of home brewed beer. It allows the use of 2l PET bottles which is cheap. Also pos- sible are 3l PET bottles in the US. Or 6l PET bottles from Tap-a-draft. They use 38mm caps, the same as beer growlers. He points out that one should not exceed 2.7 bar. The con- struction plan can be downloaded at: www.instructables.com/id/PET-a- Draft-mini-beer-keg-system Hendrik Lombard’s PET-a-Draft mini beer keg system Petainer The manufacturer said the improved one-way PET keg, which was launched at BrauBeviale 2015 features a solid and robust external casing that is designed to run on most steel keg filling lines. According to Petainer, the new product introduces benefits such as increased resil- ience throughout the supply chain, lightweight, an ergonomic design and a 2,800cm² surface area for branding opportunities. “For brew- ers petainerKeg Linestar fits on most existing steel keg filling lines and is strong enough for robotic handling and palletisation. The classic range includes containers in 20 or 30l sizes, while an active oxygen scavenger ingredient is incorporated within the PET material which keeps the con- tents fresher and prolongs shelf life. www.petainer.com Petainer sells their kegs ready for fill- ing or as preforms for in-house blow- moulding. One-way keg for four different couplers Three years ago, Dispack Projects and Quadrant CMS (Quadrant Crea- tive Molding & Systems) developed a one-way PET beer keg with a recycla- ble valve system as a cost-effective and easy-to-transport alternative to traditional multi-trip stainless steel kegs. The one-way Dolium 20- and 30-litre kegs incorporate valve sys- tems injection moulded in glass rein- forced polyamide, as well as protec- tive, stability-adding external keg rings for improved handling and storage. To develop a cost-effective and more environmentally friendly option for the beer industry, Dispack’s founder Albert Wauters, a draught and keg expert, had to ensure that prod- uct integrity, food safety regulations and an extensive list of performance requirements would be met by the keg and its various accessories, includ- ing an integrated pressure relief valve system. At the same time, priority was also given to limiting the operational impact versus the traditional keg by achieving compatibility with existing filling lines and draught equipment. In line with these factors, the two companies chose the market’s four most popular metal valves and their corresponding couplers as the main reference points for the development. For the final Dolium PET kegs, the two companies developed new valves in four different versions that can be used with the most common couplers