Keg vs. Bottles: Choosing the Best Option for Your Venue
As a venue that sells alcohol, choosing between kegs and bottled beer is an important decision. It doesn’t matter if you own and run a busy pub or quiet bar, choosing which format you prefer will either bring in or put off potential customers.
So, whether you opt for bottled beer or the beer keg route, the pros and cons of each choice can make or break your success as a venue. In this helpful Value for Venues guide, we’ll run you through these pros and cons and help you make a decision that suits you and your business.
The benefits of keg beer & cider
There are all sorts of venues that prefer draught beer and draught cider from a keg. Having a keg offers a fair few advantages that improve both efficiency and potential profits, including:
- Cost per pint — Kegs are typically cheaper per pint than bottles of beer. If your venue has a high customer turnover, this would be the most cost-effective choice
- Freshness — Beer keg storage is kept at an optimal temperature, making each pour fresh
- Service speed — Serving from a beer keg is much quicker than opening bottles if you are serving into a glass, especially when multiple bottles may be needed for larger servings
- Sustainability — Kegs reduce packaging waste compared to bottles, making them a more sustainable choice
As a supplier of keg alcohol, our Value for Venues recommendations include:
- Greene King IPA — This smooth ale has a hoppy and refreshing taste, 3.4% ABV and is served easily on draught, it’s guaranteed to get your customers coming back for more.
- Hazy Day IPA — A smooth, unlawfully fruity hazy pale ale with orange, citrus and tropical notes
- Belhaven Black – Roast coffee and chocolate notes dominate, with low bitterness and a full-bodied mouthfeel. Full flavoured yet friendly and approachable.
The advantages of bottled beer & cider
While kegs work best if your venue has a high volume of customers each day, bottled cider and beer have benefits of their own – especially if your venue is focused on customer experience or premium offerings. These benefits include:
- Convenience — Unlike kegs and draughts, bottled beverages only need opening. They are also stored and transported easier than kegs
- Customer preference — Some drinkers prefer the consistency of bottled beer, especially for premium or imported brands
- Variety — Bottled beer allows you to stock a broader range of craft beers, international lagers and specialty ciders
- Wastage — If your pub or bar sells less beer than larger competitors, you may offer less drink options. Bottles prevent wastage since they have a longer shelf life than kegs
As a supplier of packaged beer, our Value for Venues recommendations include:
- Estrella Galicia — As the number one Spanish beer brand, this family owned brewery only uses the most premium raw ingredients.
- Abbot Ale – arming, Malty and Fruity. Pale and amber malts contribute to a mouth filling and satisfying ‘horlicks’ and biscuity maltiness.
- Prior Life– Eternally light, easy drinking all day IPA with mellow tropical notes and citrus aroma.
Key factors to consider when choosing between kegs and bottles
As a venue, there are a whole range of factors that can influence your choice between favouring kegs or bottles behind the bar. And it all really depends on how you and your customers view your space. Larger pubs and bars that cater to increased footfall will likely prefer kegs, while more premium spaces might opt for bottles.
The key is to see your venue as your customer base sees it. Having a different view of your space to new and existing customers means you risk miscalculating what they’re there for. Outside of this, the key factors you must consider are:
Factor | Keg | Bottle |
Storage space | Need dedicated coolers | Need shelf storage |
Serving speed | Depending on beer type*, keg can provide faster service when busy | Depending on beer type, bottles can be faster when serving a smaller customer base |
Customer preference | Keg beer can get your most popular products out faster | Bottled beer allows for more individual choices |
Cost efficiency | Kegs are often more cost-effective for high-turnover beers | Bottled beers can be kept on a shelf for more esoteric options, without wasting away in a keg |
*Guinness and other popular stouts require a serving method on draft that takes time, in this case, a bottle would be much faster to serve.
Stock the best beer options with Value for Venues
At Value for Venues, we offer a product range that features kegs, bottled beer and more. Whether you want to increase your draught beer selection or expand your bottled offerings, our team is here to help.
What’s more, we offer tailored business advice to get your venue into its best state possible, including whether you should focus on kegs or bottles going forward.
Get in touch to stock the best bottled and keg beer for your venue.
