Nothing beats a cold beer on a hot day. But now that I think about it, you can’t beat a cold beer on a cold day either. So having a cold beer on tap in your house is definitely good stuff. And for only about a hundred dollars you can make this happen.
The KRUPS BeerTender
is a mini keg system for your home. I absolutely love my BeerTender. I feel like it was made specifically for someone like me. And let me tell you what I mean when I say, “someone like me”. Well, I like the taste of draft beer. Something about the taste of cold draft beer takes me back to old school keggers or those all you can drink draft beer happy hours. Those days are long behind me but I think the draft taste awakens some dormant part of my brain and just automatically makes me happy. And I also think that the BeerTender looks great in my home bar. I have it sitting on a mini fridge right next to the bar and it’s a great looking machine. So if you like the taste of draft beer and like cool looking home appliances, then you should keep reading.
What beers are available for Krups Heineken BeerTender
The BeerTender has three different varieties of beer available for it. Heineken, Heineken Light and Newcastle Brown Ale. It would be nicer if there were more types available but it doesn’t really look like it’s going to happen any time soon. I think that there are more varieties available in Europe but since I live in New Jersey, I can’t confirm that. The 5 liter mini DraughtKegs cost about $20 each plus you’ll need some beer tubes too but more about the tubes later.
How many beers in a DraughtKeg
There are 33.814 ounces in a liter and the DraughtKegs are 5 liters, so that gives us a total of 169.07 ounces. A regular bottle of beer is 12 ounces. So by doing a little math we can learn that a 5 liter DraughtKeg contains a little more than 14 beers. I can usually find the mini kegs on sale at a bargain liquor store for about $18. But you should find a place that sells them cold already because unlike a bottle that put in the fridge, you’ll need more than an hour to chill a DraughtKeg.
Cooling the DraughtKeg
This unit will very energy efficiently cool a beer keg down to 36 degrees. So efficiently that it will take a day or so to cool a keg from room temperature. So that’s one thing that you need to address. This is great for your energy bill because you’re not paying for an extra refrigerator in your house just to keep your beer cold 24/7. But it’s not so good for drinking a few kegs when people are over. During the summer when we have people over for pool parties I’ll buy a few cold kegs and put them on ice in one of those giant coolers that I bought from Costco. Winter time is even easier because you can leave the extra kegs outside but don’t let them freeze. If you have plenty of room in your fridge for mini kegs than you’ll be fine but if you’re like me, you’ll have to plan ahead to keep multiple kegs chilled for parties.
BeerTender Beer Tubes
When you use a BeerTender, the little plastic taps that come with the DraughtKeg will not fit inside the unit. So you’ll need to buy a beer tube with each DraughtKeg that you buy. The beer tubes are disposable and you need to use a new one for each keg. This eliminates the need to clean your beer tubes. People who have regular home beer tap systems or even the real systems in bars need their tubes cleaned out more often than you think. So once again there are pluses and minus with this. It’s best to buy several boxes of beer tubes at once (there’s 6 in a box) and the best price I’ve seen lately is at Amazon. As long as you are a member of Amazon prime and don’t have to pay for shipping. And if you aren’t a member of Prime, then why not? Either buy them from Amazon or go to a place like Bed, Bath & Beyond with one of those 20% Off coupons that probably flood your mailbox like they do mine. And remember to buy a few boxes so that you don’t run out in a middle of get together.
Krups and Heineken B100 BeerTender
The current model number for the BeerTender is the B100. You’ll find it on Amazon or at Bed, Bath & Beyond or wherever you buy your home keg systems. The pictures in this post are of my older model, the B90. The newer model does away with the tiny LED screen but I think it looks more manly. Looks like something that should be a garage or a chop shop. The drip tray and the top look like a chrome car part. Check out the pictures and you’ll probably agree.
How to pour a beer with the BeerTender
If you read the Amazon reviews, people seem to complain about the Beertender pour. They say that it’s all foam. Well you can get a perfect pour every time if you follow this advice:
- Use a wet glass
- Hold the glass at a 45 degree angle
- Open the tap all the way
Additional Beertender Features
- Chills to 36 degrees (B90) 37.4 degrees (B100)
- Each DraughKeg has a built in CO2 cartridge to keep beer fresh for 30 days
- Unit measures 21-Inch Length by 12-Inch Width by 18-Inch Height
- Ultra quiet and efficient Peltier cooling system provides constant and consistent cooling of the keg
Available Beers
- Heineken
- Heineken Premium Light
- Newcastle Brown Ale
But the best part of owning a Krups BeerTender is that whenever someone stops by my house, I can always say to them, “Can I get you cold beer?” They have a seat at my home bar and I take a frosty pint glass out of the freezer and pour them a cold one. That really makes someone feel welcome.
And since this is blog is also a little crafty, you can repurpose the empty kegs for other uses. Check out this DraughtKeg luminary that I made. It wasn’t a big deal to pop the mini keg open with my Dremel and then I drilled some holes in it. A little spray paint to make it look neater than a big empty beer can and I was done. These look great around the pool. And whenever I’m sitting around drinking beer, I can tell my wife that making luminaries.
I have a few more ideas about how to repurpose these mini kegs and I’ll cover them in future posts.
Bottom line, the BeerTender is awesome.