BeerTender
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BeerTender is a beer tapping system for use at home, developed by Heineken and electronics company Krups combining a very small home tapping installation with readily bought small beer kegs.
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[edit] Beertender technology
The beertender uses small lightweight 4 liter kegs. These kegs are readily bought at stores or supermarkets. The kegs are made of plastic and contain a sort of aluminium bag containing the beer. The beertender cools the beer inside the kegs from outside the metallic bag. Kegs are preferably cooled before use but can be used uncooled although then the kegs will take quite a bit of time to cool down and be ready for use. The beertender pumps air from outside into the keg and puts external pressure on the bag of beer, effectively pushing the beer out of the bag when the tap is opened. Kegs are returned to the shops and collected by the breweries and refitted with new bags of beer. Because of the easy system without using pressurized capsules the unit is safe and very easy to use in a home environment. The kegs last up to 4 weeks in the beertender that keeps the beer cooled continuously using only limited energy.
[edit] Where and what
The beers which are found in beertender kegs are mostly from the Heineken Group and are currently found in three countries namely The Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland Brands:
In the Netherlands:
- Affligem abbey beer
- Amstel (Amstel pilsener, Amstel 1870)
- Brand (Brand pilsener, Brand Urtyp)
- Heineken (Heineken Pilsener)
- Murphy's Irish Red
- Wieckse Witte
In Austria
- Gosser beer
- Heineken (Heineken Pilsener)
- Zipfer beer
In Switzerland
- Heineken (Heineken Pilsener)
[edit] Rivalry with InBev and Philips
Heineken started out working with Philips on developing the device, but this company pulled out of the project even before its introduction. Heineken subsequently joined up with Krups. After the success of the BeerTender, Philips reentered the market, with a similar product called PerfectDraft, which was done in cooperation with Interbrew. Heineken accused Philips of copying the BeerTender and sued Philips, but Heineken lost the case in December 2005.
