7 best home beer dispensers for pouring the perfect draught pint

Ideal for occasional beer guzzlers or those who are short on space, the sub compact is a brilliant choice for many reasons. With its small footprint, it doesn’t take up too much space on your worktop and can easily be stowed away in a cupboard until party time. It also has a sleek, minimalist design that doesn’t look out of place in your kitchen and is incredibly easy to use.

The dispenser has a 2l capacity, which delivers around three pints, making it ideal for homes with only one or two beer lovers. Plus, it can store the torps at an optimal 2C for up to 15 days, giving you plenty of time to enjoy a pub-worthy pint at home. The 2l kegs are also small enough to store in the fridge, which we found helps to cut down the chill time considerably from 10 to 16 hours to just four. They also start from just £9.59 and there are more than 20 big-name beer brands on offer including Birra Moretti, Heineken, Amstel, Strongbow and Brewgooder.

When it comes to setting the dispenser up, all you need to do is insert the torp into the body of the sub compact, feed the attached tube into the pump handle and wait to be given the green light, which indicates the machine has reached the optimal temperature. We did find that the first couple of pours were pretty foamy but once we got the hang of it – make sure to pull the handle down fully when pouring – the pints were deliciously crisp. A brilliant all-rounder, we can’t recommend the sub compact enough. The only downside? The beer can go down pretty quickly if you’re entertaining.

It goes without saying that waiting for a pint of Guinness is the most mesmerising (and infuriating) three-to-four minutes of your life. Whether a very clever marketing ploy to make you thirsty and for the black stuff to stand out from the crowd or not, a well-poured, cool and perfectly creamy Guinness is unrivalled. And now, thanks to a new nifty device that fits in the palm of your hand, you can pour a perfect Guinness from your very own kitchen – or, indeed, anywhere: your garden, the park, on holiday, the list goes on.

The round Nitrosurge device is pretty simple and easy to use (...and clean!). It’s a round, USB-charged impressive piece of tech that fits snugly onto compatible Guinness Nitrosurge cans; you simply press the famous harp and while it glows, it’s ready to use. Tilting it into your favourite glass (don’t worry, there’s pouring instructions provided, too), the good stuff surges through a small pipe, filling the can with its ultrasonic transducer – using a specifically tuned wavelength and frequency to create the iconic Guinness surge.

But be sure to pour your Guinness in two parts, as is tradition – filling your pint glass around three-quarters full, before letting it settle for about a minute, and then finish pouring to complete it with its creamy, iconic head. To clean, overrun the device under the tap, and run water through the pipe – simple.

It’s frustrating that the Nitrosurge device only works with specific Nitrosurge cans (trust us, we’ve tried with your average Guinness can) while it isn’t as cost-effective to stock up on these than your usual favourite black tinnies, but it’s a great investment for serious Guinness lovers.

The PerfectDraft pro is one the best beer dispensers we’ve ever tested. Yes, it’s hefty and yes, it will take up about a microwave-sized space on your kitchen bench, but do you need your microwave, really? Absolutely not when literally the perfect pint is so readily available and extremely fun to pour from the comfort of your own home (it’s even complete with a drip tray, so there’s minimal mess).

The PerfectDraft pro is so easy to use and can be temperature controlled from the easy-to-navigate PerfectDraft app, which is available on most smartphones. Simply follow the instructions pasted on the inside of the machine, and slide in a 10-pinter (6l) keg of your choice. Then, insert the provided tubing into the machine’s tap, wait for it to chill (the optimal temperature of most light-coloured beers is around 5C to 7C, but the machine can go down to 3C) and perfect your pouring technique.

We found it was a real party starter. We’d recommend prepping your machine in advance of any parties, though, as it can take a number of hours to chill your keg down (we keep our kegs outside in colder climes to reduce this).

At first, we were concerned about its impact on our electricity bills, being plugged into the mains constantly in order to keep the beer cool and fresh – but it’s had such a minimal impact on them, that we haven’t even noticed. Plus, if you find yourself out – or if the machine isn’t going to be in use for a few days (we can’t drink every day, after all) – simply pop it on the energy saver mode in the app, and the machine will keep it at an optimal temperature, using minimal power.

We know it’s pretty pricey but, if your budget allows, it’s well worth the investment. Plus, there’s plenty of beer to choose from, with a variety of styles from IPAs to lagers and big names from Goose Island and Stella, to Tennant’s and Thornbridge on offer from the PerfectDraft site – with plenty of discounts in the forms of bundles. Don’t chuck your kegs in the bin either, as you’ll receive 100 beer tokens worth £5 for every keg returned to PerfectDraft, too. That’s money off your next keg, so it’s worth being eco-conscious.

What could be better than pouring beer that you’ve made yourself? With the latest Pinter 3, you can play the role of both brewer and bartender – from your very own home. Plus, the machine is available in grey, red and blue, so your new favourite piece of tech will not be a sight for sore eyes on your kitchen counter while doing it. And for under £100, it’s our worthy best buy for being a (pretty good-looking) Jack of all trades.

There’s no denying that the concept of the Pinter is pretty impressive. Hailing from London, each purchase of the keg-shaped machine comes with a 10-pint Pinter pack which contains everything you need to create a beer style of your choice. Simply, follow the snazzy app’s instructions by combining something called a fresh press (it looks like sticky Marmite) with brewing yeast into the machine, leave to ferment at room temperature, then in the fridge, and in around seven to 10 days, the app will inform you that you’re ready to pour fresh beer directly from your beer dispenser.

We will admit that it is a little heavy, and you will need to make some space in your fridge, but drinking your very own creation is a feeling like no other – in our opinion. Plus, don’t all beer lovers have a mini fridge anyway? Or shelves filled with cans? With the Pinter, it’s not like it’s taking up any more space that isn’t already reserved for bevs. And, in terms of what you can make with your own hands/excitement, choose from 10 pints of award-winning IPAs, lagers, stouts, ciders and more, starting from just £19.99.

Pinter’s eco-credentials are pretty impressive, too. Every pack replaces 17 bottles or cans, meaning less waste. The packs are letterbox-friendly, too. For under £100, we think it’s a really great gift for any beer (or cider!) lover.

Look, we get it, money is tight – and sometimes, guests just aren’t as picky about beers as we are. Supermarket beers deserve no judgment or titters from crafty beer lovers, but they do deserve to be poured properly. This battery or USB-operated tap from Fizzics is available for less than £130.

Simply insert any beer can or bottle of your choice, and let the magic happen (the magic being sound waves, apparently). We didn’t see any improvement to mouth-feel or aroma – you can release any beer’s aroma by simply pouring it into a glass – but admit that it was fun to use, and enjoyable to get a creamier head than pouring a regular tinnie straight into the glass.

While we felt like wizards using it, it’s pretty no-frills and sadly doesn’t solve the waste issue, or the fact that you’ll still have to head to the recycling bin at the end of the night…

This is a slick bit of kit that delivers a top-quality pint every time but it might not be for everyone. We have plenty to praise this machine for, including the fact its kegs hold around 14 pints worth of the good stuff, of which you can choose from a number of well-known brands such as Heineken, Birra Moretti, Tiger and Stella Artois. Its design, however, is divisive.

While we personally liked the unique stainless steel construct, which features toggle buttons, a temperature gauge, beer meter and comes topped with a light-up glass dome that allows you to see the keg, it won’t appeal to all. It’s also rather bulky and, although it will fit on most kitchen worktops, it will dominate the room. But, for a gadget that holds 8l of beer, what do you expect?

Aside from the struggle to heave it into place, the blade was relatively easy to set up. It’s worth noting that you need to let the machine rest for two hours and that it requires between 16 and 24 hours of cooling before you can enjoy your first sip. We should address the price, too. The blade is incredibly expensive and the initial outlay may be beyond many people’s reach. However, if you’re a regular beer drinker, investing in the dispenser could perhaps save you money in the long run. A single 8l keg costs around £35 (although this varies depending on which brand you choose) which puts the cost of a pint to around £2.50. That’s a real bargain when you consider that the average price of a pint of beer has risen by more than 70 per cent in the last six years. Overall, we were really impressed by the blade and, if you’re an avid beer guzzler or enjoy hosting parties, it’s well worth considering.

This beer dispenser may appear as no-frills, but it’s still ideal for those blazing hot family barbecues where beer is needed literally on tap. This beer-tight dispenser, complete with a leak-stop lid, holds up to 2.5l – around four and a bit pints – and is lightweight enough to transport safely from the kitchen to the garden. There are plenty of useful features, for example, the external ice holder keeps drinks cool (no energy needed, just ice cubes). It also has an external barometer, showing how quickly your beer is being drunk. What’s more,

There’s no drip tray, so have a tea towel (or fancy bar mat, if you’re so inclined) handy to catch any spills – but we like its sturdiness, thanks to its wide base, so there’s no risk of it toppling with over-exertion, or keenness (or, simply, the great British weather). You will need to provide your own cans or bottles – so it doesn’t exactly solve the waste issue, or help with cleaning up after a big night. Still, it’s an affordable, fun table centrepiece.