Not all steel is created equal. It’s graded based on the purity and balance of its constituent elements. Beer, being acidic, needs at least SAE 304 steel—that kind that contains 17.5–20% chromium, 8–11% nickel, and less than 0.08% carbon. This easily malleable grade of stainless not only prevents the low pH of beer from corroding or leeching, but also bends easily into the cylinders and cones that are preferable for brewing applications. It’s a standard across the U.S. and Europe, and compliance groups regularly test it to make sure it’s up to snuff.

But that’s not necessarily true about China. They do have standards, ones that many companies like Major Keg are proud to brag about, even showing low resolution copies of their certifications in the materials they hand out to potential customers. But they don’t seem to be consistently enforced, and it’s difficult to tell who’s adhering to what once the deal has been struck.

“The Chinese are masters of sub-contracting,” says Jeff Erway, owner of La Cumbre Brewing Co. in Albuquerque, NM. And he should know. Erway’s had a number of issues with Chinese-made brewery equipment, and speaks from experience when he says, “once they’ve made a deal, they sub it out to someone else, and it’s difficult to trace who makes what.” Some of his concerns are legal and financial, too. “So many of these companies lack ethics,” he says. “You really have to work directly with a vendor based in the U.S. so there’s some accountability and a paper trail.”

“Unlike the U.S., [China] is a place where lawyers don’t rule everything,” he continues. “But price drives a lot. With German and Italian steel, you pay through the teeth, but at least you know what you’re getting.”

European manufacturers use infrared and x-ray as part of their quality checks to determine the thickness and composition of the steel, something most Chinese manufacturers cannot claim. Erway admits he sees the allure.

“These tanks are two thirds or three fourths cheaper than pretty much all the competition,” he says, quickly adding, “but if you hear somebody say they’re gonna give you something for free, it’s time to turn around. You’ll pay for it eventually, even if you save up front.”

His other concerns are safety-related. “I’ve seen enough Chinese threads to know threaded kegs are a risk,” he says. “We haven’t heard of any Chinese kegs exploding…yet.”

It’s easy to forget, on the other side of the pint glass, that brewing is an industrial job. Safety concerns are paramount, and pressurized kegs—especially when cleaning—pose a real threat to workers across the industry.

It’s not all idle fearmongering, either. In April 2012, Redhook Ale Brewery employee Benjamin Harris was killed when a plastic keg’s safety mechanism failed, and it exploded during routine cleaning. A lawsuit is still pending regarding his wrongful death. Erway says he’s seen plastic kegs explode in his brewery as well—thankfully without injuries.

Poorly manufactured products or un-recalled defects can have disastrous consequences, and as Erway notes, those consequences can reverberate: “one accident could do damage to the entire industry.” Especially scary are unsubstantiated claims of safety. A representative from the Paul Mueller Company—who creates some of the largest American-made brewing equipment for breweries like Green Flash—tells GBH he’s seen completely spoofed certifications for internationally originating steel that “looked like they were made in Photoshop.”