The cookie settings on this website are set to 'allow all cookies' to give you the very best experience. Please click Accept Cookies to continue to use the site.

Kegs & Accessories

Welcome to your one-stop solution for kegs and accessories for packaging and distributing your beer/beverage you worked hard on to produce. At UBC Group, we are proud to be the leading Canadian supplier of beer & beverage kegs, keg accessories and keg services.

Browse our catalog to find the right keg for your draft beer setup. If you are not sure which keg to choose, contact our sales representative for a professional consult and friendly advice.

What We Offer

Whether you represent a craft brewery, cidery, winery or major brewing operation, here you will find the kegs and accessories to match your budget and stylistic preferences.

  • Stainless steel kegs
    • Cornelius kegs
    • Schafer kegs
    • Cask kegs
  • Keg accessories
    • Keg stackers and spacers
    • Keg caps
    • Keg spears & parts
    • Cask keg accessories

In addition, we provide keg branding and customization services. You can have your brand name embossed, printed, or etched onto a keg. See our branded keg portfolio for more information and examples. We customize kegs both in Canada and in Europe.

What Makes Us a Top Keg Supplier

Our clients include major breweries, wineries, and beverage manufacturers all across Canada. We give the best prices on new, custom-branded stainless-steel kegs and a wide choice of accessories. We also manufacture commercial draught equipment to store kegs in such as kegerators, meaning we offer complete draught systems.

We handle large-volume orders like no other supplier - quickly and efficiently. Shipping products across Canada from our warehouses in Mississauga, ON and Surrey, BC, we offer reliable and honest service to make sure UBC customers are satisfied.

Kegs 101

A keg is a pressurized container primarily used for designed for storing, transporting, and dispensing beer. Despite the common opinion, there is no such style of beer as ‘draught beer’ – this term simply indicates that the beer came from a keg. However, draught beer does differ in taste from bottled beer or cask ale.

The way a keg operates is much like a can of soda. The beer in a keg is usually pasteurized or filtered which ensures there are no more active ingredients in it which:

  • prolongs the shelf life of the beer
  • ensures the same quality and taste of the beer across the board

These are characteristics that make kegs so important for breweries and pubs. Kegs also allow beer to be distributed in larger volumes, bringing in more profits per ounce of beer compared to any other packaging method. A properly balanced draught system allows the same level of carbonation that the brewer intended for each style, and therefore gives the customer the closest experience to if they were enjoying the beer right at the brewery that made it.

How Does a Keg Work?

Although kegs are pressurized, the pressure itself will not push the beer to the top effectively. Instead, gas regulators are used to push the beer at the bottom of the keg up the valve, through the lines and out of the taps. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most commonly used gas, but for some beers such as Guinness, nitrogen is used instead to create a smoother beer with a cascade-effect and creamy head.

If your keg is equipped with a FOB (Foam on beer detector), the system will cut off the beer supply when the keg is empty as a clear indicator that the keg needs to be changed.

Different Types of Keg Couplers

Although most kegs look and operate the same, there is one notable difference - the type of connection between the keg and the beer/air line.

The connecting device is called a keg coupler and comes in six major types. Different kegs and couplers are not compatible with each other, so you need to know which type of keg is being used to tap it correctly.

The six main types of keg couplers are:

  • D-type coupler (the most common type in North America, fits US Sankey keg valves)
  • S-type coupler (popular in Europe, this type is used for beers like Heineken and Pilsner Urquell)
  • U-type coupler (commonly used for kegs made in Europe and beers like Guinness, Harp and Smithwick’s)
  • A-type coupler (aka “the German slider-style keg coupler”, it used for German beers like Carlsberg and Franziskaner)
  • M-type coupler (it is used for German beers like Einbecker and Schneider)
  • G-type coupler (it is used by a few breweries including Fuller’s and Grolsch)