The price of scrap metal is climbing, and that has some thieves targeting beer kegs as a source of income. Eric Jensen, executive director of the Wisconsin Beer Distributors Association, have started reporting in recent months that kegs aren't making their way back from bars and retailers.
Jensen says the kegs are probably not just being stolen from outside bars and restaurants either. He says some customers may not be returning them to stores because they can get more selling them for scrap than their deposit is worth.
Protecting kegs is being left up to individual businesses at this time. He believes higher deposits would prevent many people from trying to profit off of a rental. Beer makers can spend up to $150 to replace a stolen keg.
