Heineken and Krups BeerTender B95 DraughtKeg – Is It the Best Choice for Home Draft?

The Krups BeerTender B95 home beer tapping system is an affordable and enjoyable way to tap your Heineken and now Newcastle mini kegs. This feature rich appliance could be the best home draft keg dispenser of all the previous BeerTender units. So without further ado lets break into what makes the B95 tick.

What mini keg beers are available for the BeerTender B95?

The BeerTender B95 works with the Heineken DraughtKeg and the Heineken Premium Light Keg. Originally those were your only choices but now with the Newcastle Brown Mini Keg becoming more popular there is a bit more variety for the BeerTender B95. Krups and Heineken both say more beers will be coming soon that will work with the entire BeerTender line. For now we do have to put this in the “Con’s” side unless you’re a big Heineken or Newcastle fan.

How cold will the Krups BeerTender keep my mini keg?

Now what the BeerTender B95 might lack in beer choice it makes up for in features. Krups makes a few different models in the BeerTender line but the B95 is their Cadillac. The B95 utilizes a silent cooling system that does not operate on an induction motor like a regular refrigerator, this keeps the volume of the unit much lower which we like. The silent, consistent cooling system keeps the 5L draught mini keg at a perfect 41 degrees F. The cooling system in the B95 does feature a thermostat that allows you to set the temp down to 36 degree if you prefer. We really liked this added feature in the B95 that you don’t get with other models. Some of us like a warmer or colder draught and this gives you the flexibility to do just that.

While we are on the topic of beer temperature we highly recommend that you buy your mini kegs cold if possible, the BeerTender cooling fan takes a few hours to get down to a nice crisp 36 degrees if you put it in at room temperature, so just keep that in mind. In fact we have heard of it taking up to 10 hours to go from 60 to 36 degrees F.

Is the Heineken BeerTender easy to use?

Now unlike a normal kegerator the BeerTender B95 is very easy to use, it will take you less than 15 seconds to insert the mini keg and get it cooling. You just pop it in, position the feed line, and close the top. From there the unit begins to cool the mini keg as well as automatically pressurizing the keg with Co2 each time the tap is opened. This makes sure the beer stays nice and fresh for up to 30 days.

Is it well built?

Another great feature that you won’t find on some of the other BeerTender models is the LCD display. The display unit features a volume indicator, freshness indicator, and temperature control indicator. Now sometimes you get an appliance with all these fancy indicator lights that aren’t very accurate but the B95’s volume indicator seems to be right on. This is a great feature so you can prepare another mini keg before your current one runs out. Once you start drinking cold draught beer at home you’ll never want to run dry so its good to have another one chilling before your keg is kicked.

The LCD display is very clear and easy to read, it doesn’t look like a cheap appliance at all. In fact overall the Krups BeerTender B95 unit comes off as very well built; it looks great on the kitchen counter or in the man cave downstairs.

Does the Heineken Mini Keg Dispenser pour a lot of foam?

Now you’ll see a lot of complaints regarding foaming issues with these Heineken pressurized mini kegs, especially if you’re looking at the reviews on Amazon. The thing is if you do not follow the directions for tapping the keg you will get some foaming issues. It is imperative that you open the keg for the first draw at a nice chilled temperature do not get anxious and tap it too early, trust me I did this and was drinking foam all night. Also as they say over seas, “it’s all in the pour”. Now it can take time to master this art of the perfect beer pout, but honestly if you follow the instructions it’s not bad at all. I would not let the complaints of excess foam deter your from buying the Krups BeerTender, as long as you do everything right you’ll be fine.

Overall the Heineken and Krups BeerTender 95 is a great appliance for any beer lover, especially if you are a Heineken or Newcastle fan. We keep hearing more beers are to come which will only increase the value of this unit. The Krups BeerTender B95 is one of the better looking and full featured units on the market today so we hope to see more beers added in the future.