Think back on the last party you attended. Perhaps you enjoy sitting around an impeccably decorated living room and sipping glasses of cold, frosty beer poured by a nattily attired waitress named Nicole hired for the night so the hostess could mingle with the glitterati in attendance. Or perhaps it was at your friend Terry’s house where you ended up puking all over his couch after trying, and failing, to put firecrackers on his cat. If you read CrunchGear, I’m suspecting it was the latter. That is why the Heineken Draught Keg is not for you.
Conceptually, this bucket of beer is solid. Who wouldn’t want a big keg of Heinie on the counter, ready for all comers? It’s like a party ball without the ball you can cut in half and put on your head later.
That’s what I thought when I bought this keg of fail. The keg is supposed to contain five liters of sweet beer along with a CO2 delivery system. What it actually contains is 10 liters of foam, some beer, and lots of beer on the top of the keg that runs down the sides into the fridge and makes a huge holy mess.
To connect the beer to the outside, you have to insert a little tapping mechanism. This tapping mechanism, no matter how much you try, does not form a proper seal and allows beer to flow up and out of the keg guts. If you carry the keg at all or, perhaps, drive with it, it also begins to foam and most of your pours consist of head and faint sliver of nectar. Not a fun time. This is basically going to be the most petulant and difficult-to-manage guest at your party – be warned.
I’m sure others have had excellent experiences with the Draught Keg but anecdotally I’ve confirmed that most folks have had big problems getting this thing to work properly. I’d recommend getting a case of Amsterdam’s best and leaving it at that. This is a party foul.
I’ve never met a Heine I’ve liked.
I gotta agree with Jameson on that one. Heineken = fail. Also John is this is a real review or more of a I hate Heineken rant, which ps is always welcome.
I didn’t have a problem with the seal, but I’ve seen less foam in my washing machine. Absolute waste if money.
I had to defend this little guy. I’ve only gotten head on the first pour. After that it’s beautiful, crisp Heiney, just like you get in Holland. I think it tastes better than the bottle/can.
I buy it the day before. Sits regally in the fridge, becoming one with, whatever.. Anyway, next night, tap and enjoy..
Have to agree with this review. I had exactly the same problems with beer leaking out when I did not want it to do so, and so much foam that I coulda shoulda washed the dishes in it. It is a nice idea, and if it saved a few bucks I might try it again, but I think it actually costs more than an equal number of bottles. I prefer Bass, anyway.
The instruction says “keep fridged at 40F for 10+ hours.”
I don’t blame if you coundn’t wait that much.
can we get another review after following the directions of 10 hours @ 40 degrees in the refrigerator? I’m curious if it’s worth buying after following directions.
read alex’s review above. this is a party keg! Not a sit around for 10 hours in a fridge keg! GEEZ!
Seriously, if I go to a Bottle King and get a legit keg I don’t have to wait 10 hours to put it on ice and tap it to keep the party going! What am I going to tell people if I run out of beer at a party, don’t worry in 10 hours this party will be back and strong!
i too had to deal with inordinate amounts of foam. next.
I disagree. I have used these kegs for about 6 smallish parties (eg bunch of folks at the 4th, that sort of thing).
Since I live on a big boat, having lots of bottles around
is more of a hassle than it’s worth, so I keep one of these
in the fridge to tap when ever I end up with welcome guests.
I’ve never had any problems with them. I can’t say if it’s
more environmentally freindly or what, but it’s certainly less
mess at the end of the day to throw away a few leftover cups
and the mini keg than a ton of beer bottles, and the beer seems
pretty tasty. I’ve used them both right away and after letting them settle.
these kegs are fantastic if used correctly, they are not sold as party kegs as the beer stays fresh for 30 days once opened.
heres a quick guide to the perfect ‘Dutch’ Heinie.
leave it undisturbed for 8 hours in the refridgerator before fitting the tap system then wait a further 5 minutes for co2 to stabalise, the trick is not to disturb the keg once in place, once it’s ready rinse the inside of your glass with cold water and shake excess out, THEN POUR at a 45 degree angle till glass is 2/3 full then level to create head, remember that the dutch serve this with two fingers of foam(head) this seals the beer and improves flavor.
Amsterdams finest and most popular bneer is now available Exactly as intended if used correctly, ENJOY RESPONSIBLY
Work at Heineken much?
p.s that should say beer,
p.p.s every keg is brewed here in Amsterdam and is brewed under very high standards to ensure Authentic Amsterdam beer wherever you are. remember patience is a virtue.
Seriously, do you have these in your break room at work….at Heineken!
HA HA, great to meat a fellow pesimist!,
no i do not work for Heineken or any other outlet that deals with Heineken, i get my Draught Heineken on tap but my English and American friends love these now they know how to use em
geez, i dun took one of these here fancy kegs to a hoedown, 3 miles down a dust road in blistering heat, why is i getting warm froth?.
‘you sure got a purty mouth cousin’
In fact, this works very well. I was given one as a gift for some computer repair work, brought it home (presuming it was just one of those big can things), and left it in the conservatory (which in Cambridgeshire in winter is pretty cold).
A few days later, I fancied a beer and took a look. I was fascinated by the mechanism, put it together in around 15 seconds, wondered if the button bit pressed down anymore, and gave myself a quick spray of beer down my front. Having placed a glass under it, I then poured a lovely pint of foam, thought for a minute, and then poured a perfect pint with good head (I wonder if those who have had nothing but foam never worked in a bar). Beer is pretty good – it’s probably less metallic tasting than cans, and closer to draught than bottles, but once you get your head round it you can enjoy a good glass of beer.
Overall, it’s probably pricey (I didn’t pay for mine), but great fun at a party. Not least because you can laugh at all the arrogant prats who don’t have a clue how to pour a proper beer. Thumbs up from me, and I’ll probably buy a couple for Christmas.
if you follow the rules you wont have a problem. This was my first “baby keg” and even my first pour was more beer than foam. the trick is to cool it down overnight, tap it, and the most important part is to leave is be in the fridge. be wary of moving it “you will be sorry if you do’”
if you follow the rules you wont have a problem. This was my first “baby keg” and even my first pour was more beer than foam. the trick is to cool it down overnight, tap it, and the most important part is to leave is be in the fridge. be wary of moving it “you will be sorry if you do’”
Have had no problems with the draught keg at all! Perfect pour everytime. I purchase the kegs cold at my distributor and they are ready to go when I get them home. I’ve purchased 6 without a problem. Cost in my area is equal to the purchase of a Heineken 12 pack of 12oz bottles or cans, so you basically break even, but the quality is sooooo much better.
My experiences with the mini keg were piss poor at best. But drastic times call for drastic solutions. The problem with my kegs have been that they are too full of CO2. The solution to this problem is not to let it sit in a refrig for an extended period of time….Some of mine have been in the fridge for over a week without disturbance. But to rid of the CO2. You obtain this solution by simply tipping the keg upside down, pulling on the tap, which will release the CO2 after the CO2 has left the keg, tip it back over and enjoy.
Josh’s advice is priceless — I had this and got nothing but head after tapping it. I then let it sit in the fridge for a week and still had nothing but head. But after reading Josh’s comment, I turned it upside down, released some CO2 (not all, just 5-7 seconds worth) and proceeded to get a perfect pour. It literally salvaged the rest of the keg for me.
(Who knows, maybe releasing that much CO2 makes it less likely it lasts the full 30 days, but if I get a good pour, it won’t last that long anyway.)
Super Bowl Sunday- I go to buy one and couldn’t see one- I ask the dude and he said `no prob` and walks to the back- 30 sec later I hear a huge crash in the back- so I look around the corner and and see a huge bag of ice had spilled out on the floor in front of the cooler- no prob` I get it home and tap it- 1st 3 quarters of the game is1/2 to 1/3 foam- gawd he must of shook the hell out of it during the crash- otherwise HaHa perty good beer- I will buy the next one a day before I tap it- AT ANOTHER STORE and I am sure it will be much better- However Josh I like your idea- sounds idiot proof- but how do you get the beer out after the CO2 is gone? Cut a pour hole in it with my buck knife? Pitt 20 Cards 14 with 5 min left- at least the game isn’t full of foam Smiles
Those of you who have had a good run with these, how far do you open the tap?
I was always taught to poor a beer with the tap wide open, to reduce foam…. Is this still appropriate with the draught keg?
K Freaks, This keg is bought refirdgerated so with that siad I took it out to camper, tapped it and walla FOAM for the next 10 taps..so the fridgeing ting isnt the cure. as for moving it or letting it sit tried that too still HEADS GALORE. I bought one yesterday at 4pm c.s.t. and its now 1055am c.s.t. lets go tap one…well I tapped it right from the fridge so it wasnt moved..6″ tall glass and 60% is FOAM and yes I rinsed the glass with ICE water..they suck..save your $ and buy Fosters Oil Cans
The amount of CO2 that can remain dissolved in the beer decreases as the temperature of the beer rises. “As temperature increases, CO2 bubbles expand and will come out of the beer. As temperature drops, CO2 dissolves more easily into the beer.” So, if you chill the keg sufficiently before opening, and keep it chilled you should be good = little or no foaming.
above quote from:
http://www.angelfire.com/ks2/beer/homekeg.html
For those of you who complain about this beautiful invention RTFM. The directions are pretty clear. I followed the directions, and have had mine open for almost a week now and it still pours beautiful fresh tasting beer.
Newcastle is coming out with one in February, hopefully it catches on because for anyone with half a brain, these draught kegs offer delicious taste at about the same price as bottles. A++
That is just a bunch of bull. Followed directions step by step and all I got was foam and skunk tasting beer. What a waste of money and time.
I bought one today at walmart already chilled, a little foamy on the first pour but perfectly fine after that.
Try pouring with the tap wide open to reduce foam… thats what I did on my second pour… just the right amount of foam
I have used this system and never experienced the foam problems that you people have had. When first opened you get foam and after that beer with a slight cool head–just delicious and cold.My 3 friends drank the keg dry in an hour. These kegs cost about twenty dollars but really has that draft taste–Viva the beer!
Just installed mine today. Picked up chilled (overnight) keg ($20.00 in FL) and followed directions. Perfect pour first time (let the head settle a little….should be about 2 fingers) and enjoy. I’ve been to Amsterdam and this is the taste I remember….they drink their’s warm though and serve with a big head.
my experiance sucked nothing but head, first ten pours after that gave it away
Maybe there is a correlation between buying the keg already chilled and at room temp?
I picked mine up last night already chilled. Drove it home, popped it open, and half a glass of foam later I was pouring glass after glass of great Amsterdam greatness!