Heineken and Krups bringing BeerTender to the States

Heineken and Krups have been peddling their LCD-equipped keg / fridge in Europe for a little while now, but the companies are going to give it a shot in the States and see if those American go for this whole "cold beer" thing. The unit is built to hold a 5-liter Heineken keg and keep it tasting fresh and cold for about 30 days. The LCD indicates temperature and lets you know when beer is running low. You can buy it in March from Williams-Sonoma and everywhere in April for $400.

[MacroEQ @ Jan 9th 2008 7:10AM]

"Would you mind topping that up Luv'"

[rakiah @ Jan 9th 2008 7:18AM]

Too bad Heineken sucks... Now only if they had that for our home brews.

[Adam @ Jan 9th 2008 7:32AM]

I'm sure you could stick in ANY mini keg, even homebrew.

[N. Pandor @ Jan 9th 2008 9:10AM]

They didn't mention that it uses special 4 liter BeerTender-kegs that are priced above usual kegs and bottles. I think these are the whole point of the machine. (making the installation very easy, accelerates the cooling, etc...)
So you won't find any kegs but those produced by Heineken. Heineken bought a bunch of small breweries in Europe, so here they sell Heineken + 0-5 local brands (depending on the country)
Still the product ist crap in my opinion: not only is the device expensive but the kegs are too and the limited beer selection is very limited.

[Mark Galvan @ Jan 9th 2008 9:20AM]

Any Trappist ales available?

[Rik @ Jan 9th 2008 1:51PM]

After Heineken introduced this a few years ago it was soon followed by it's competitor, PerfectDraft from Philps. Basically the same machine (they fought in court about it for quite some time actually) only with a wider selection of brands Dommelsch, Hertog Jan, Jupiler, Grolsch, Bavaria en Leffe Blond (yeah thats a Trapist) here in the Netherlands. Heineken then couldn't lean back so it now offers next to Heineken; Murphys, Amstel, Brand, Wieckse Witte, Afligem (Trapist!), brand. So if the PerfectDraft also comes to the market in the US then expect the offerings of brands to expand quickly!

I used one of these machines a while ago and my opinion; they are noisy and don't produce a propper layer of foam on to of your beer! However you do get a very nicely chilled beer.

But hey, build quality is rather poor, your beer is more expensive this way, and it is known that these devices (both of them) consume about as much electricity as a small refrigirator which is propostorous! (Actually, we once analysed this product some years ago at my study of mechanical engineering and really; it's designed badly)

So, just buy your beer in a bottle or can or go all the way and get a real bar in your home!

[Adam @ Jan 9th 2008 3:16PM]

Have a look at the Beer Mate that has been is Australia for the past 12 months, its much better that the Krups. It has a "6 litre Uni-Keg" you can fill with any beverage.

http://www.sunbeam.com.au/products/product_details.cfm?rec_id=695&sec_id=48

[Dextro @ Jan 9th 2008 4:47PM]

@Mark Galvan:
No way on earth would the good monks from the trappist monasteries release their simply fantastic beer in some kind of keg. Have you ever had Chateau Petrus from a keg or champagne?
As far as i know all trappist beers are bottle conditioned and bottle conditioned only. They are very delicate products, you should let them rest for a while before opening the bottle. A keg wouldn't be a good solution. In most cases refermentation will take place in the bottle for several months before they even get distributed. And, similar to wine, the older they are the better (well not 10+ years, but 2 to 5)
I live about 10miles from Westvleteren, the other breweries are all within a 200mile radius :-)

[Axl @ Jan 9th 2008 11:01PM]

@Rik

Leffe is far from a Trappist. They are part of Inbev, the largest brewing conglomerate in the world. You might be confused by the fact that they are an "abbey" style beer, though they are a poor one at that.

Affligem is not a Trappist either. They are brewed by Heineken, the fourth largest brewer in the world. Again, an abbey style beer, but not Trappist.

The only Trappist beers in the world are from Orval, Chimay, Westvleteren, Rochefort, Westmalle, Achel, and Koningshoeven.

@Dextro

There are actually a couple of Trappist beers that can be found on draft, though they are rare. Chimay White and I think Konigshoeven Quadrupel might be the only ones.

For a good beer education, try exploring beeradvocate.com

[dero @ Jan 9th 2008 7:18AM]

Heineken sucks! (and yes I am dutch)

[Jeff @ Jan 9th 2008 7:45AM]

Other than being a different brand, in what way does this differ from this? http://www.hammacher.com/publish/74248.asp

This has been on the market here for years. It's cheaper too.

I don't get these things, though. Is there some reason you can't just keep beer in your fridge? I would think a mini-keg would go flat before your 30 days were up. Beer in cans or bottles, though, won't.

[Mark Galvan @ Jan 9th 2008 9:16AM]

The 5 Liter Heineken Mini Keg using the tap that comes with it for free (~$23 total @ Costco) says on it that you should refrigerate it for 10 hours prior to use and that it will stay good once tapped (and kept cold) for 30-days.

You can buy a pretty cool mini-fridge for $400.

[iPriest @ Jan 9th 2008 11:01AM]

Because lager tastes best when it is served this way, but I need to point out that Heineken tastes bad even if it is served this way. If you want a descent beertender you better import the Philips Perfectdraft wich allows you to serve Belgian beer like Jupiler. The logic in these machines is that you will consume more beer so normally you would empty a keg every 14 days.

[Hinke @ Jan 9th 2008 7:47AM]

Let's just hope you guys allso get the perfectdraft, (http://www.perfectdraft.com/Intro/LangChoice.aspx?country=NL) that takes any keg from interbrew and Grolsch. (and is made out of steel, not plastic..)

Hinke

[Jeff @ Jan 9th 2008 7:48AM]

Duh, nevermind on that last part - you add your own CO2. Obviously, I'm not up on the whole keg scene. I just buy bottles :)

[Remco @ Jan 9th 2008 8:06AM]

Small detail they kind of forget to mention: to cool one of those kegs to the advised temperature using only the BeerTender, you're looking at a 10 hour wait (!).

[locke6854 @ Jan 9th 2008 10:50AM]

they're fixing that with the next firmware

[NHAnimator @ Jan 9th 2008 8:11AM]

Meh... I'll live with my bottles. Plus I just mounted a cool Starr opener. Happy using that.

[bob sakamano @ Jan 9th 2008 12:25PM]

lol, mounted, lol

[Stelliot @ Jan 9th 2008 8:13AM]

I live in Holland an have 2 of these. They have been around for 3-years or so. The barrals are 4 litres, and it is quite a bit moer expenisve then bottled/cannad beer, but it's worth it. The machine pictured is avaiable here for around $200.

[bob sakamano @ Jan 9th 2008 12:28PM]

stelliot are you drunk?????

" barrals" "moer" " expenisve" "cannad" avaiable"

[Radar @ Jan 9th 2008 8:26AM]

Just as an FYI, if you have an old refrigerator, you can convert it for about $300 into a two-tap system that is capable of holding as big of a keg as the refrigerator can handle (I did this this past summer; two taps and either two tall quarter barrels, or one half-barrel). And...not limited to Heineken.

[chosen1 @ Jan 9th 2008 8:58AM]

this has been on the market for a few years now (in Belgium) and here in Belgium you can buy 2-3 different kegs for the machine (but Jupiler still is the best (I know some of you beer-loving Americans can agree with that))

you can't place ANY kind of small keg in the machine since it's a special connectionsystem. so for now you're all stuck with the worst beer in the world, Heineken

[Arc|Angel @ Jan 9th 2008 9:16AM]

I was on a customer review panel for this early last year. At that time there was (if I recall correctly) 4 beer brands you could use (2 European; 2 Canadian). Not that any of them appealed to me. What is really interesting is the price difference. During the review we examined difference price points. Surprisingly the highest we were asked to review was $150. The beer price was equivalent to around $2 a bottle (volume comparison) if I recall.

[dskatz2 @ Jan 9th 2008 9:32AM]

A nifty idea, just too bad that Heineken is an absolutely horrible beer. Let me know when I can drink a Stone IPA or Rogue Dead Guy out of this, then maybe I'll change my mind.

[tadghostal @ Jan 9th 2008 9:36AM]

Real men need devices like this (that keep 5 liters of beer fresh for 30 days) to go right next to their special tupperware that keeps their Double Whoppers fresh for up to a week - you know, just in case you can't finish it in less than 10 minutes.

In other words, not.

[bob sakamano @ Jan 9th 2008 9:46AM]

Maybe I missed it... does this have displayport?

[Seb D @ Jan 9th 2008 10:09AM]

It also constantly consumes 70W of electricity..

IF i recall correctly it takes 14 hours to cool 1 Keg .. so you can't really use it for partys (with more than 5 people...)

[Oli @ Jan 9th 2008 10:33AM]

What great parties you must have with 1 litre of beer per person...

[Sakuki @ Jan 9th 2008 10:28AM]

"You can buy it in March from Williams-Sonoma and everywhere in April for $400."

and can also be bought on e-bay in May for $50

[Jakob @ Jan 9th 2008 10:31AM]

This looks exactly like the Danish Tuborg (Carlsberg branded) model. Whatever Danes (and especially Swedes) drink alot more than any other in the world, why not share?! We can't be drunk all time.

[Bad Beaver @ Jan 9th 2008 10:32AM]

Yeah, I'll pay 400 bucks for the privilege of drafting my own beer... these things have been around in Europe for a while, and they suck. They suck energy, they are noisy, they lock you into certain brands, and they are plain pointless in the first place. When I want a beer I go down to the pub.

[Zeek @ Jan 9th 2008 10:50AM]

400 bucks buys a lot of canweiser...

[bob sakamano @ Jan 9th 2008 12:27PM]

stelliot are you drunk?????

" barrals" "moer" " expenisve" "cannad" avaiable"

[Steve @ Jan 9th 2008 1:58PM]

Heineken is way better in the Netherlands than it is here. Plus its stronger.

[jerry @ Jan 9th 2008 2:04PM]

I'd be more than drunk if I lived in Holland!

[galen @ Jan 9th 2008 2:20PM]

bob sakamano
@ Jan 9th 2008 12:27PM
stelliot are you drunk?????

" barrals" "moer" " expenisve" "cannad" avaiable"

Well he is from Holland, so I would cut him some slack if he misspelled a few words.

[Tom @ Jan 9th 2008 4:31PM]

You can buy a real BeerMeister for that kind of dough.

[TIMMAH! @ Jan 9th 2008 5:41PM]

Yeah seems like hoity toity kegerator for a limited (1) beer selection.

[Joel @ Jan 9th 2008 7:55PM]

Wait a sec, Americans don't drink cold beer o.O

[Bryan @ Jan 9th 2008 8:14PM]

Everything in this article sounded fine until the last sentence. "You can buy it in March from Williams-Sonoma and everywhere in April for $400." $400?!?!?!?

[Fozz @ Jan 10th 2008 4:21AM]

5-litres? Who here has ever made 5 litres of lager last 30 days..?

[boatboy @ Jan 9th 2008 8:28AM]

If I had 5 litres of Hieneken, it would last a lifetime. That stuff is nasty.

[newswede @ Jan 15th 2008 2:52PM]

I have one of these in Sweden. Love it! The only downside is that the pump/chilling unit is loud when it kick in every 30 minutes. Not something you want in a small apartment...it'll keep you up for sure. Other than that it's sweet & perfect for small parties.