Scottish Courage’s innovation programme has been set back after it scrapped plans to roll out its Foster’s CoolKeg format.
The self-dispensing 35-pint keg was on trial in Thresher and Majestic stores in Brighton with a view to a national launch but a series of technical and logistical issues have cut its life short.
Launched in May last year, the format boasted a self-cooling system that promised cold beer within 60 seconds of being activated and was welcomed by buyers for bringing innovation to the lager category.
Costing £49.95 - less than £1.43 a pint - consumers also had to pay a £30 refundable deposit for each keg. Empty kegs were then returned to the brewery to be refilled before going back on shelves.
But a spokeswoman for Scottish Courage said the process made it unworkable.
“The decision is based on key findings from the evaluation which highlighted problems associated with manual handling, the susceptibility of the keg’s outer cardboard packaging to damage and stock control issues brought about by the difficulty of tracking and retrieving empty CoolKegs.”
However, the brewer said it would continue to work on ways to “deliver cold beer to consumers”.
The self-dispensing 35-pint keg was on trial in Thresher and Majestic stores in Brighton with a view to a national launch but a series of technical and logistical issues have cut its life short.
Launched in May last year, the format boasted a self-cooling system that promised cold beer within 60 seconds of being activated and was welcomed by buyers for bringing innovation to the lager category.
Costing £49.95 - less than £1.43 a pint - consumers also had to pay a £30 refundable deposit for each keg. Empty kegs were then returned to the brewery to be refilled before going back on shelves.
But a spokeswoman for Scottish Courage said the process made it unworkable.
“The decision is based on key findings from the evaluation which highlighted problems associated with manual handling, the susceptibility of the keg’s outer cardboard packaging to damage and stock control issues brought about by the difficulty of tracking and retrieving empty CoolKegs.”
However, the brewer said it would continue to work on ways to “deliver cold beer to consumers”.
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