Heineken Draught Beer Set The Sub, Compact Edition Beer Tap System for Home, Black, + 4 x Heineken Torp 2 Litre Beer Barrel

Product Information

Unlike setting up a full-blown pump that you'd get in a pub with gas cylinders and miles of piping, setting up one of these pumps at home is a doddle. Fear not, there are plenty of affordable, budget-friendly options to choose from online, including your favourite - or next favourite - beer. Nevertheless, if you’re looking to serve beer the exact same way the pros do, the Klarstein Big Spender is the way to do it. In the UK, the main coupler types are S-Type (also called a Sankey Keg coupler) and the G-Type (or Grundy Keg coupler). Most mainstream brands use either of these two coupler types. For example, Carlsberg and Kronenbourg both use S-Type, while Carling and Tennents use G-Type. A less commonly used coupler is A-Type, which is the coupler type used by Guinness and Hoegaarden.

Nevertheless, despite these occasional caveats, the Krups BeerTender is still a good beer dispenser to have at home, especially if you’re after a more budget-friendly unit.

Where do you buy beer dispenser kegs?

It'll take a while to get your canisters to the correct pressure and to cool your beer, but the process doesn't require a lot of input from you. What is the best home beer dispenser? The Pygmy is compatible with almost all types of beer kegs – the ones that pubs and restaurants use. You can easily swap the coupler to support keg types from other countries. The kegs for this machine are 2 litres - which is around 3.5 pints - so you don't need to be throwing a huge party to justify firing it up. The instructions were the most confusing of the ones we tested though, as some of the diagrams were a bit difficult to understand.

Controlling the amount of foam in your pour is essential if you continuously experience beer that’s too foamy. This sometimes happens when the keg is agitated during delivery, or if the dispenser is faulty. Also, note that warmer beer also tends to be foamier (since colder beers can keep their carbonation much better). The small footprint means it will fit on any countertop. Place it on a flat, clean and dry surface with access to main supply. We also advise customers to leave enough space around the machine, to make sure that it can cool.

CO2 beer dispensers are for you if you’re after the best draft experience that replicates what you’ll get in a pub. Some draft systems are also visually gorgeous and perfect for your home bar or man cave. Also, if you mostly drink craft beer kegs or brew your own, CO2 dispensers are the only way to tap one. Compatible Kegs

The PerfectDraft and Krups The Sub machines have an internal pump for example that pumps out the beer from your keg so it doesn't need any CO2 capsules. Once in the machine, a SUB Keg takes 10 to 16 hours (depending on starting temperature). When your beer is chilled to the right temperature, then the light on the front will turn green. To expediate the process, you can pre chill your kegs in the fridge. Other nifty features of the Beerkules include the beer volume gauge (always a welcome sight during parties!) and a universal connector for compatibility with both fresh and party kegs.

BLADE beer machine

It goes without saying you’ll need to select your chosen dispenser from one of our favourites below, but you’ll also need to get the right beer to slot into your dispenser that suits your beer tastes. Many of the more expensive options take kegs directly from brewers (often called kegerators) that are pressured and will shoot out the golden nectar for you, complete with microfoam heads right in your own home, but others just need beer cans or bottles to be slotted or poured in. Like other proprietary systems, PerfectDraft uses its own beer kegs and is sadly not compatible with standard kegs you’d find in a pub. The good thing is that there are over 40 PerfectDraft beer kegs to choose from, in a variety of styles, so you’re not likely to run out of brews to drink. And it includes not just mainstream beers like Heineken and Stella Artois, but more craft brands like Goose Island and Tiny Rebel.

We thought The Sub looked very cool - it’s a bit different to other machines as the keg that goes inside is laid on its side rather than upright, which gives this device its cylindrical “submarine” design. The PerfectDraft Pro machine was incredibly easy to set up - it was all done in a few minutes - although cooling the keg takes around 10 hours so this is one to prepare in advance.How a beer dispenser works obviously depends on the design and model of your machine but it'll involve pressure in some way to force the beer out.