Philips Perfect draft machine

[Mutley]

Has anyone got one of these? And is it a good buy?
Thinking of getting one, looked at the beers available and seems perfect for the summer bbqs at home (price of the kegs aside)

Anything i should know before buying one?

[sgrimshaw]

If you really want something like this, it might be better to consider one which use the more widely available 5 litre kegs like the Klarstein

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Klarstein-Dispenser-System...

The cost of the dispenser covers a lot of beer though

The 5 litre kegs can also be used without a fancy dispenser if you want.

[Mutley]

but as Leffe and the beers I like are available in the 6litre kegs, is more prudent to get the larger one. Thanks though.

The only down side seems to be only German sellers on ebay

Edited by Mutley on Tuesday 9th December 13:53

[Bigkahonies]

I just got the Phillips perfect draught machine for my birthday, lovely cool becks on tap.

It came from here

http://www.smallbeerkeg.co.uk

and I think this is probably the same company

http://www.perfectdraftbeerkegs.co.uk

Edited by Bigkahonies on Tuesday 9th December 17:36

[kingston12]

Bigkahonies said:

I just got the Phillips perfect draught machine for my birthday, lovely cool becks on tap.

It came from here

http://www.smallbeerkeg.co.uk

and I think this is probably the same company

http://www.perfectdraftbeerkegs.co.uk

Edited by Bigkahonies on Tuesday 9th December 17:36

I know this is 6 months old, but did you find anywhere else to source the kegs? They seem to be sub €20 on the continent and available in supermarkets, but far more than double that over here and you have to pay hefty postage on top.

[Mutley]

kingston12 said:

I know this is 6 months old, but did you find anywhere else to source the kegs? They seem to be sub €20 on the continent and available in supermarkets, but far more than double that over here and you have to pay hefty postage on top.

I love mine, always in use, but having been caught out with the UK cost, I now buy in bulk when I go over to Europe, makes the trip worthwhile.

I would like to know what beers are available, and where, as would like to try different ones

[kingston12]

kapiteinlangzaam said:

I had one of each for a while, but kept the Philips system.







€14 a keg here, from the supermarket

I actually go to NL every few months for work, but not sure if I could really bring a few kegs back on the plane! I know you are allowed to take liquid in your gold luggage, but I wonder if they'd get a bit jumpy at 6 litres!

Have you come across any suppliers over there that might ship over here? If I was to buy a few at a time, I doubt shipping would make it much more expensive.

Edit to add: what made you choose he Philips system? I doubt I'd go for the other one anyway as kegs seem to be non-existent over here!

Edited by kingston12 on Wednesday 20th May 17:43

[kingston12]

Mutley said:

I love mine, always in use, but having been caught out with the UK cost, I now buy in bulk when I go over to Europe, makes the trip worthwhile.

I would like to know what beers are available, and where, as would like to try different ones

Travelling to Europe by car, I guess? I have seen a place in Calais that does them for €18, so might be a good excuse for a booze cruise!

[Birkin1932]

Can you get alcohol free kegs? :-)


I'll err, I'll get me coat

[21TonyK]

I have a Philips one but the power supply burned out after 6 months so currently powered by a car battery charger!

Leffe on draught is a killer on a warm day

[smack]

kingston12 said:

I actually go to NL every few months for work, but not sure if I could really bring a few kegs back on the plane! I know you are allowed to take liquid in your gold luggage, but I wonder if they'd get a bit jumpy at 6 litres!

I bring back a few boxes of beer + wine from the US every month or so in my luggage - every 2nd trip TSA even open up my case and the boxes and tape it back up. I even take UK beer over with me to give to co-workers and do swaps with barman I am friends with in pubs. They get different beer, I dink on the house, everyone is happy!

So take an extra case (if you get extra luggage allowance) and load up I would advise!

[Mutley]

21TonyK said:

Leffe on draught is a killer on a warm day

Greatest drink there is, chilled Leffe

[kingston12]

kapiteinlangzaam said:

I like the Beer selection more (specifically Hertog Jan and Jupiler) and the Philips cools a bit quicker.

Ive never really looked in to online suppliers as its so easy to pick them in the supermarket. Google "perfectdraft fust" for some Google results, and check http://www.biernet.nl/bier/prijzen/hertog-jan/perf...

Thanks for the pointers. I am looking forward to trying Hertog Jan!

[kingston12]

smack said:

I bring back a few boxes of beer + wine from the US every month or so in my luggage - every 2nd trip TSA even open up my case and the boxes and tape it back up. I even take UK beer over with me to give to co-workers and do swaps with barman I am friends with in pubs. They get different beer, I dink on the house, everyone is happy!

So take an extra case (if you get extra luggage allowance) and load up I would advise!

Just as an update to this, I managed to pick up a couple of kegs of the delicious Hertog Jan as recommended by kapiteinlangzaam.

I only bought two this time just in case they didn't let me take 6 litre pressurised containers on board. No such problem, and they survived the flight perfectly. These do weigh 7.5kg each, though, so watch your baggage allowance (and your back!) if you want to bring back more than two!

I paid €14 + €5 deposit for each keg. I won't get the deposit back, but that still only works out at £1.35 a pint which is less than I'd often pay for bottled beer anyway, so seems a good deal.

One store that I couldn't get to had these going for €11. If you live in Holland and therefore get the deposit back, that is more like 80p a pint.

I have also found a Belgian based supplier that only charges €7.50 postage for 3 kegs to the UK. The kegs are €30 each, so this is well over £2 a pint, but I don't get over to Holland with an empty suitcase that often!

[Mutley]

kingston12 said:

...I have also found a Belgian based supplier that only charges €7.50 postage for 3 kegs to the UK. The kegs are €30 each, so this is well over £2 a pint, but I don't get over to Holland with an empty suitcase that often!

Please share!

Am off to Holland next week for the Tour de France, so some shopping for kegs will be done. I often stop in adinkerke on the way to Spa (20 minutes from Dunkirk) and "XL" stock the kegs. Not a big selection, but handy for Leffe and Jupiler

[kingston12]

Mutley said:

Please share!

Am off to Holland next week for the Tour de France, so some shopping for kegs will be done. I often stop in adinkerke on the way to Spa (20 minutes from Dunkirk) and "XL" stock the kegs. Not a big selection, but handy for Leffe and Jupiler

I was going to hold on until I have had the delivery, but since you ask:

http://www.belgianbeerfactory.com/

Not a recommendation yet as I have not had delivery and it is around two weeks now. I will let you know!

Are you going to the start of the Tour de France in Utrecht? If so, even the XL version of Albert Heijn there does not stock the kegs, or at least not when I was there a couple of weeks ago.

I actually got mine from 'Jumbo', but I had to order them online and do a click and collect-type thing. If you do this, beware that they only accept debit cards for that type of order (not even cash!) and they don't like Visa debit cards. That is all I have so in the end they cancelled the online order and sold the kegs to me as shop stock for cash.

I'd be interested if you do find any in general stock in that area as I go there quite a lot but struggled last time.

[kingston12]

kapiteinlangzaam said:

Its a bit weird with the general stock being so low around Utrecht.

Literally Barrels of the stuff around here - even in the small village supermarkets.

I did think it was strange given the availability elsewhere in Holland. Perhaps I was just unlucky with the branches that I tried (one Jumbo, a couple of AH and one AH XL). The Jumbo where I got mine from in the end was a big one so may have had them on the shelf but I didn't check as I had ordered them in.

I even tracked down a fantastic little beer shop near my hotel. They must have had 500 beers in there, but nothing in the draft kegs. Worth a look if you are down that way though:

http://bertsbierhuis.nl/

Probably not that exceptional if you are based in Holland, but much better than the shops we get back in the UK.

[C0ffin D0dger]

You'd have to be getting the kegs from overseas, that website linked to earlier that is UK based, 6L Stella keg is £30 equating to around £3 a pint. Might as well just go down the pub at those prices (Londoners excluded)!

[kingston12]

C0ffin D0dger said:

You'd have to be getting the kegs from overseas, that website linked to earlier that is UK based, 6L Stella keg is £30 equating to around £3 a pint. Might as well just go down the pub at those prices (Londoners excluded)!

It is not necessarilty a cheap way to drink, there is no doubt about that. I am in London, so a pint of San Miguel/Stella is £4.50 in my local! I tend to compare it more to other home drinks, though.

My preferred way of getting these kegs is bringing them back from Holland myself (£1.35 a pint). A 330ml bottle of beer costs about £1 in the supermarket, so that is £1.70 a pint. Constant offers would take it down to less than that of course.

There is something about the way it tastes (maybe just the novelty of using it!) that I really like, but definitely not enough to pay £3 a pint to drink at home.

[studio117]

C0ffin D0dger said:

You'd have to be getting the kegs from overseas, that website linked to earlier that is UK based, 6L Stella keg is £30 equating to around £3 a pint. Might as well just go down the pub at those prices (Londoners excluded)!

Agreed.

The cost of the kit and subsequent kegs makes it uneconomical really.

My local spoons(fairly ok) is less than 4 quid a pint. Can't beat that tbh.