Gizmodo Australia » kegs

Heineken Draughtkeg Review

Nick Broughall — Fri, 08 May 2009 05:15:30 +0000

The good folks at Heineken, whom you may have noticed have been advertising their new Draughtkeg system on Giz recently, thought it would be a good idea to send us one of them to “review”. I ~~reluctantly~~ agreed.The Heineken Draughtkeg is so simple that even the drunkest of drunkards can operate it, which is probably a good thing if you happen to drink all five litres in one sitting. The first step, ironically, is also the hardest: you need to stick the keg in a fridge – for 10 hours. It makes sense, but doesn’t make the wait for sweet, amber liquid on a Friday afternoon any easier.

Once your beer is cold, you pull out the plastic fitting on the top of the keg, rinse the tap, and then clip the handle onto the notch in the centre of the keg. Then you place the tap in the groove, push down a bit, and when you’re ready pull the round tap lid back like you’re pulling a real beer at the finest pub in Amsterdam.

The first beer out of the Draughtkeg – for me – turned out to be 50% head, and had me preparing my razor sharp wit for a scathing review. However, every subsequent beer has had just that perfect amount of head on it, making it easy and pleasant to drink.

Heineken claims that the Draughtkeg will last up to 30 days after opening – although it’s only been a week since I cracked mine, so I can’t tell you if that’s true or not. I probably won’t be able to either – 5 litres of beer only goes so far, and on a beautiful Friday afternoon, the urge to pull a fresh one off the near-empty keg is mighty high.

Obviously the question of whether or not you want to opt for a keg or a case the next time you head to Dan Murphy’s will depend largely on your taste in beer – while I quite enjoy Heineken, it’s far from my favourite beer. If I could grab, say, a James Squires Amber Ale Draughtkeg, I’d be all over it every week – there’s something about the ability to pour your own beer that’s incredibly refreshing. Which means that if you happen to be a Heineken fan, then the $35 (ish) Draughtkeg is a seriously good option.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m calling it beer o’clock. Cheers…

[Heineken Draughtkeg]

Weekend Adventures: Sacrificing For Gizmodo

Nick Broughall — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:30:41 +0000

Call it fate, call it destiny, call it luck – Late last week when I popped into the office for my regular weekly visit, there were two very interesting products on my desk: The Heineken Draught Keg you may have seen advertised on Giz recently, and the new Singstar wireless microphones, complete with a copy of Singstar: Queen.Who can say what the Gods were thinking when they decided to deliver these two products onto my desk together? I can only assume that it was preordained that my destiny for this weekend would involve drinking Heineken from a keg and singing We are the Champions through my TV. And so, with ~~great~~ ~~some~~ reluctance, I pledge that this weekend I will review both the Heineken draught keg and the Singstar wireless microphones for you, the Gizmodo reader.

What gadget-related plans have you all got for the weekend?

Disco Ball Keg is an Understated Way to Get Your Beer

Adam Frucci — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 15:10:00 +0000

This is an interesting gimmick, sure, but what genius decided to put a keg in something with a rounded base? How does this stand up straight? Come on. [Brainstorm9 via NotCot.org]

Beer2-D3 Can Calculate Hyperspace Jumps to the Drunk Galaxy

Jesus Diaz — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:10:00 +0000

Believe it or not, yesterday I learnt there are people who don’t like beer. However, I’m sure they won’t be able to resist the charm of Beer2-D3, which is as cute as B3-3R.

Artist Paul Loughridge made this 16-inch tall astrokeg using a 4.7 liter beer keg and the following elements:

Head – 1945 chrome BLC utility light shell.
Eye – vintage movie camera lens w/adjustable spring-loaded aluminium casing.
Legs – propane tank valve handles, brass spacers, drilled-out washers, pair of aluminium Lady Josephine shoe butler (wall-mounted shoe shine holders).
Feet/base – 3 mini bread loaf pans, lamp hardware and a 1/2″ precision drilled aluminium base plate.
+assorted nuts, bolts, screws and, of course – lockwashers!

Head to Bonnie Burton’s interview with Paul for more details about his cool artwork. [Star Wars Blog]

Arcade Driving and Kegs: A Natural Combo

Adam Frucci — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:30:00 +0000

This, my friends, is what you call asking for trouble: the new arcade driving cabinet Octane 120, from Dream Arcades, comes with a built-in keg-o-rator, with the beer tap placed conveniently on the dash next to the steering wheel. You know, so you can accurately practice your drunk driving in a safe environment before busting out your sloppy skills on Saturday night.

Really though, there’s nothing wrong with this. I mean, if drinking and playing video games was illegal, I’d be on death row. This thing has two taps — one in the back and one on the dash. This allows a party to be going on around you while you tear it up in Gran Turismo, and you never even have to get up to refill your beer.

The setup includes a 120-inch projection screen, a home theatre PC with 12 racing games pre-loaded, a PS3-compatible steering wheel if you want to hook one up, and a 5.1 surround system. It’s available now for $US7,000.

I’d personally like to see keg-o-rators involved in more video game accessories. Here’s a freebie, third party accessory manufacturers: a foam dome with a built-in Xbox Live headset. Let’s make it happen.

20-Watt Beer Sound Amplifier Makes Perfect Sense, Really

Jesus Diaz — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 21:20:00 +0000

Beer + music + electricity = Ultragoodness. You can’t go wrong with that formula and this do-it-yourself 20-watt Heineken Draught Keg Guitar Amplifier hits all the right chords perfectly. For $US119, and looking this good, it’s the perfect present for any drunk guy who loves beer, music, and whose birthday is just around the corner. Yes, that would be me.

You can connect anything you want–MP3 players, guitars, bass guitar, your tongue–then plug it into any regular electrical outlet, and start rocking with glorious tin-can sound. [Etsy via 7Gadgets]

Octane 120: Arcade Cabinet Meets Kegerator Meets Home Theatre

Mark Wilson — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:10:00 +0000

What more can we ask for? This September, arcade cabinet manufacturer Dream Arcades will be releasing a sit-down unit that’s pretty much every childhood and adult fantasy we’ve had rolled into one. Built upon a “high-end gaming PC” platform, the Octane 120 displays games through a 10-foot screen with its built-in projector and it will pour you a cold one at your leisure.

Because hidden underneath that black finish, a kegerator keeps your beverage of choice ice cold. Two taps (one by the steering wheel, one in the back) and one cup holder (by the wheel) ensure that no matter where you stumble, it’s not too far from more stumbling.

And on top of all that good stuff, the system can play any of its 200 (licensed) bundled PC titles, PS3 racing games through the built-in wheel, or PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii games with the built in joystick (and the aid of a few adapters). Oh, and they squeezed a 5.1 surround sound system in the chassis, too.

Priced at US$6,995, it’s definitely infringing on real car payment territory. But finally, we can drive drunk without all those pesky tickets and dead people. [DreamArcades via CrunchGear]

Kegstand Keg-On-Wheels is Great for Weak Frat Boys, Bloggers

Benny Goldman — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:20:00 +0000

I once had a job delivering beer to bars but I only lasted a day, mostly because my body is built for blogging and not manual labour. If the Kegstand was around at that time I may have gone down a much different career path. This tub-on-wheels makes the keg easy to roll around, has a snap-on–and hopefully watertight–tub that can be filled with ice to keep your brew cool, and a drainage spout to empty out all that nasty beer water at the end of the night. Sadly, you’ll still have to keep pumping iron if you want a keg at your next party–it’s just a concept for now. [The Greener Grass via Core77]

Party-A-Cargo Brings the Bro-Down to Wherever Your Truck Can Park

Gizmodo US Edition — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 14:00:00 +0000

Hey dudebro, looking to take a bro-dtrip but afraid you’ll make the ultimate braux-pas: not bringing enough beer and having a totally whack sound system? Chill out man, Party-A-Cargo’s got your back with its tow hitch mounted kegerator. The Party-A-Cargo Ultimate can store up to 160 glasses of beer and contains a jockey box with two 15cm by 22cm speakers and a 25cm subwoofer.

The case, which hooks up to the back of your SUV, also has a built in CD stereo and Sirius Satellite Radio, a battery charger and a 12-volt power adaptor. A locking door ensures that those dickwads at Alpha Gamma Phi won’t try to make a grab for your beer while you’re gone. Party-A-Cargo offers three different versions of its frat-friendly fun box, ranging in price from US$2,895 to US$3,795. [Born Rich]