The tradition was renewed by Pilgrim founder, Dave Roberts, who was also instrumental in the establishing the Society of Independent Brewers and the Progressive Beer Duty – both of these achievements are fundamental to the craft beer revolution we enjoy today.  

In 2017, the brewery was purchased by Adrian and Rory, passionate about bringing quality ales and beers to the South East and a vast investment was made into the brewery’s equipment to increase capacity, new controllers throughout the brewing process to ensure consistency and new cleaning in place (CIP) technology.  

When the global COVID-19 pandemic hit the UK and the subsequent lockdown ordered pubs and restaurants to close for a substantial part of the year, the team at Pilgrim needed to find a solution which would save their beer! The answer came from the mini-keg supplied by P. Wilkinson Containers.  

Pilgrim was able to cask beer already brewed into smaller kegs which could be enjoyed by punters at home and this also meant the brewery was able to continue with production by utilising this portable packaging format.  

Each five-litre keg, which equates to about nine pints, features an easy-to-use ‘pull handle and tilt’ tap (rather than a button or twist tap) and drinkers can choose either the brewery’s heritage or seasonal cask range.  

Like many breweries during the COVID-19 closure of all pubs, clubs, bars and hotels, Mad Cat found themselves needing to find a way to transfer product from the normal 40L kegs, into something more fit for retail sale & home use.

P. Wilkinson Containers was able to supply pallets of 5L mini kegs within days, and secure supply throughout the volatile lock-down period. Saving thousands of pounds worth of Mad Cat Beer being wasted, along with all the energy and resource that went into its production in the first place.

It was estimated that nation wide, 50m pints of beer would be wasted as it turned bad, while stuck in unwanted 40L cask kegs.

P. Wilkinson Containers helped many breweries across the UK to save tens of thousands of pints worth of product being wasted needlessly.

In total, P Wilkinson Containers supplies Twisted Brewery to four pallets a year totalling 448 mini kegs.  Each of the mini kegs contains the equivalent of around 9 pints of beer or ale and can even be personalised by the client for seasonal sales, which has proved very popular! 

30+ years later, in the run-up to Father’s Day 2020, Exmoor Ales decided to commission mini-kegs from P. Wilkinson Containers for the brewery’s award-winning real ales to market to their customers as ‘mini-casks’. The 5L kegs are the ideal size for the client’s customers to order, get delivered, and enjoy real ales in the comfort of their own home.  

The mini-kegs, suitable for beer, ale and cider, showcase the best venting mechanism for smooth flow and extended product life, placing them in direct competition of other beer and cider packaging formats including glass bottles, ring pull cans, growlers, polypins, mini–pins and a bag-in-a-box – many of which the mini keg is superior to.   

The mini keg features include a re-closable top plug valve; easy to use ‘Pull & tilt’ tap (not a button, or a twist tap); an integrated tamper seal in the tap; suitability for carbonated and non-carbonated filling; and bespoke print designs available. The metal structure gives an unrivalled oxygen barrier and is widely recyclable as metal recycles forever. 

The original order had very good feedback from Exmoor Ales customers about the ease of operation, alongside clear instructions, resulting in a second larger order. The final product was so successful, Exmoor Ales have even fielded enquiries from local pubs about ordering mini-kegs for takeaways. These mini-kegs are available in the UK from P. Wilkinson Containers Ltd. 

For the Hot Chocolate tin, we used a 74mm diameter, 160mm tall slip lid tin manufactured at our William Say factory, which is then litho printed with a bespoke design for Cutter & Squidge. Each tin includes an environmental eco message on the base to communicate the decision to source locally, and to summarize the benefits of metal recycling forever.

The Cutter & Squidge tins have a satin varnish to finish, and the plain tinplate lids all have the Cutter & Squidge logo embossed into them.

Each plastic jerrycan poly bottle can be recycled and is a sustainable choice for customers. Additionally, all plastic jerrycans are produced in UK and European factories, meaning that the containers also have a low carbon footprint.

At P Wilkinson Containers we use renewable energy to power all our on-site operations, generated by our roof top solar farm. This was an important factor for Thatchers when looking for suppliers which align with their sustainability drive.