The Philips Perfect Draft keeps your beer at a constant 3°C, and the results are fantastic! If you have a home bar or simply prefer draft beer over cans and bottles, this device is perfect for you. It’s one of the best ways to enjoy draft beer at home. While some argue that kegs are expensive, we’ve found a few places where you can get them at reasonable prices. Below, we’ve listed a couple of kegs that are not only affordable but also taste great.
The device requires specific kegs designed for the Perfect Draft system. These are 6-litre kegs, equivalent to 10.5 pints. With shipping, you’re looking at approximately £40 per keg, which isn’t cheap. For example, the Beck’s keg we’ve listed below works out at about £3.60 per pint, which is unlikely to be cheaper than your local pub. However, if your local isn’t the most appealing place, this could still be a worthwhile investment. The Camden Hells keg we’ve listed comes in slightly cheaper, at around £3.10 per pint including shipping. While the price of kegs may deter some, others may see it as a fair trade-off for the convenience and quality of having draft beer at home.
The dispenser takes between 12 and 15 hours to chill the beer to the desired temperature, but if you’re in a rush or hosting a party, you can speed things up by pre-refrigerating a keg or two. Keep in mind that kegs take up significant space in your refrigerator, which can be inconvenient if you’re hosting a BBQ or dinner party and need room for food as well. Rest assured though, the last couple of degrees is the longest part to chill down.
Philips claims that, despite its cooling function, the device is no more expensive to run than a 40-watt light bulb (presumably a Philips 40W bulb). At least your main expense will be the beer itself. Once a keg is opened, you can keep the beer fresh in the machine for up to 30 days. The system doesn’t require gas canisters, but the tubing that connects the keg to the dispenser should be replaced with each new keg to ensure your beer stays fresh.
This product looks fantastic, performs brilliantly, and, if you have a home bar like me, it adds a touch of style as well.
Perfect Draft will also refund £5 for every keg you return to them, so that does go some way to mitigating the cost of the keg. You can return your kegs completely free of charge via courier to receive credit on your Perfect Draft account. Or return them to Perfect Draft retailers, or Majestic Wine to receive your £5 credit per keg off your purchases in there.
There are some fantastic offers and bundles available through Perfect Draft’s website for buying multiple kegs and Introductory bundles with the different Perfect Draft machines. Alternatively you can buy over Amazon here.
