Tommyknocker Brewing Company Selects TrenStar’s Keg Management Solution

TrenStar’s keg management unit is the 4th largest keg owner in the United States behind Anheuser-Busch, SABMiller and Molson Coors.

DENVER – June 30, 2006 —  TrenStar, Inc. today announced that Colorado’s Tommyknocker Brewing Company has selected its MicroStar Keg Management LLC unit to provide keg management services.  MicroStar Keg Management is the fourth largest keg owner in the U.S behind Anheuser-Busch, SABMiller and Molson Coors.

Beginning in May 2006, MicroStar will make kegs available to Tommyknocker on a “per-fill” fee basis under a 5-year keg management agreement.

Located in historic downtown Idaho Springs, Colorado, in the majestic Rocky Mountains, Tommyknocker Brewery has been producing award-wiining ales and lagers since opening in 1994.

“With MicroStar Keg Management being a Colorado-based company, it has always been our goal to establish draught partnerships with the finest breweries our home state has to offer,” said David Webster, TrenStar’s North American Operations Director.  “Tommyknocker Brewing’s award-winning products are an excellent fit with our keg management program.  We look forward to servicing Tommyknocker Brewing Company with our complete keg outsource service to boost their already impressive record growth in 2006.” 

MicroStar owns more than 430,000 kegs for distribution in the United States. The fleet includes half-barrels and 5.16-gallon or “sixth barrel” kegs, the industry’s fastest growing container for draft beer sales.

TrenStar group companies own and manage a proprietary fleet that includes an additional 4.2 million kegs in Europe. The keg fleets were launched in 2002 when mobile asset management operations began for two of the largest brewers in the region, Scottish Courage Breweries and Carlsberg-Tetley Brewing Company Limited. TrenStar’s outsourcing operation in Europe offers a supply chain solution for brewers, that combines advanced RFID technology and keg management expertise. Asset pooling which is a key feature of the operation will result in lower capital requirements, reduced operating costs and higher service levels for participants. The United Kingdom’s ratio of draft to packaged beer is 60 percent draft as compared to 10 percent in the United States.