Philips PerfectDraft Home Tap system

2ndcoming

Just got back from spending the weekend in Holland and our host had one of these set-up in his kitchen. I can't believe this hasn't been brought to these shores what with all the emphasis the past couple of years on drinking at home.

We went through a 6L keg of Grolsch and a 6L keg of Leffe blonde, both bought in the local supermarket for around €20 each, although the Bavaria and that was only about €14. Absolutely delish chilled nectar. MMmmmmm!

Here's a youtube demo... I want this over here badly!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcyiGBEBzJI

BeerNut

Lidl do these a couple of times a year, for about €100. Theirs fit the standard 5L German kegs.

I don't know of anyone who still uses theirs after the initial novelty wore off, however.

2ndcoming

Thought Lidl would be the best bet alright, suppose it's probably around September then...

If it was properly marketed with the sort of range and prices available in the Low Countries it would be a popular option here year round I reckon, I suppose if the kegs were introduced here they'd probably be €30+ which would kill the market for them. How much do Lidl do the German kegs for? Any idea of the types of beers etc?

BeerNut

2ndcoming wrote: »

If it was properly marketed with the sort of range and prices available in the Low Countries it would be a popular option here year round I reckon

Heineken already have a big foothold on this market segment. Dunno if they're making money out of it, though. MolsonCoors launched their HomeDraught system last year to a big fanfare and it died a fairly quick death, both here and in the UK.

2ndcoming wrote: »

I suppose if the kegs were introduced here they'd probably be €30+ which would kill the market for them.

That's definitely on the high side. The Thornbridge minikegs (standard German 5L again) cost about that when they arrived in Ireland just before Christmas, and those beers are €5 a bottle. I'm sure a standard beer would be less.

2ndcoming wrote: »

How much do Lidl do the German kegs for?

€15.

2ndcoming wrote: »

Any idea of the types of beers etc?

A pils and a weiss. The kegs are available year-round, AFAIK.

Not much of a market for them here I reckon. The Carling/grolsch kegs were a total flop when they came out. The heineken ones aren't much better. Even when they are reduced we would only sell two or three of them at work. We still get the odd customer looking for the bitburger kegs though.

munchkin_utd

BeerNut wrote: »

Lidl do these a couple of times a year, for about €100. Theirs fit the standard 5L German kegs.

I don't know of anyone who still uses theirs after the initial novelty wore off, however.

those there phillip units are different though.
They have an inbuilt gas canister in the mini keg and proper connections from the keg to the machine.
Also, the machines that take the standard 5L kegs are aparantly awful for being too frothy, so you spend the first while trying to wait for froth to condense into beer.

JohnK

Deleted User wrote: »

Not much of a market for them here I reckon. The Carling/grolsch kegs were a total flop when they came out. The heineken ones aren't much better. Even when they are reduced we would only sell two or three of them at work. We still get the odd customer looking for the bitburger kegs though.

Well if they were just Carling & Grolsch I'm not surprised they didnt do too well - maybe its just me but I wouldnt have listed either of those as being one of the popular drinks in Ireland. I'd be more surprised about the Heineken one not doing well though but as I dont drink Heineken myself I never noticed it was available in mini-keg form - I dont know if thats down to me just ignoring Heineken or if it just wasnt marketed all that well. Personally I’d like that kind of setup but obviously I’d only go for it if it the beers I drank were available in keg-form.

BeerNut

munchkin_utd wrote: »

They have an inbuilt gas canister in the mini keg and proper connections from the keg to the machine.

So the kegs are proprietary, then? That means one company can say "Right, we don't make these any more" and your lovely machine is a brick. That at least three big breweries are making beer for them is probably a good sign -- if you like their beer -- but there's something to be said for open source here, IMO.

munchkin_utd wrote: »

Also, the machines that take the standard 5L kegs are aparantly awful for being too frothy

Surely that's just a matter of temperature. If the machine has a good enough cooling system it shouldn't do that. Though I don't know how good of a cooling system €100 in Lidl gets you.