The Philips PerfectDraft Pro beer machine is a high-quality device that provides a real pub-at-home experience – with one little flaw: it cools all beer to 3oC, regardless of kind. The PerfectDraft Pro addresses this problem by delivering variable temperature control, Smart Pour technology for flawless pouring, intelligent software, and quicker cooling. Those who own the original may find it difficult to justify purchasing the new computer. However, this is the machine to have if you enjoy a wide range of beeve.
The Philips Perfect Draft Pro beer machine allows beer enthusiasts to enjoy ice-cold pints on tap without leaving the house. Following its previous model’s footsteps, the Pro introduces new and better features and a significant expenditure increase. These improvements include a new design, enhanced cooling, a variable temperature range with optimum temps for each beer, improved pouring, and a gleaming new app for remotely controlling and monitoring your machine.
These additional features, however, are not cheap. The PerfectDraft Pro is a heavy investment for hardcore aficionados only, costing £135 more than the original and having a substantially wider countertop footprint.
What will you see here?
Price & Availability
The PerfectDraft Pro is an expensive beer machine and gadget, costing £385, although it is not the most costly beer distribution equipment on the market, with the Heineken Blade costing £445.
The PerfectDraft Pro is now available for purchase after a time of fulfilling pre-orders from a queue. You may order it for the standard price with two complimentary glasses or several packages with kegs.
If the price is too high for you, the classic PerfectDraft is still available for £249.99. There are other less expensive choices, like The Sub, which costs £119. You could even manufacture your self-pour beer with the £149 Pinter 2.
There’s enough space to chill one 6L keg at a time. However, one isn’t there unless you spend a little extra to bundle up. Beer Hawk sells kegs and offers a keg subscription service, which is beneficial for keeping your home bar filled. Kegs start at about £30 but may go up to £41, and one keg yields approximately 10.5 pints. This works out to slightly over £3 a pint.
Design
Overall, the PerfectDraft Pro is similar to its predecessor, although a larger computer. It has a greater capacity of around 55% at 29.4 x 40.1 x 44.5cm, so make sure you have room for it before you buy. It’s black and silver again, with the tap mechanism at the top as well as an LCD panel lower down in front. A single door, rather than two, as well as a built-in drip tray that slides in and out, are among the architectural changes.
The tap is more durable than previously, with a larger handle and a redesigned tightening nut. You may still put a magnetic medallion on top, and you can also put one on the front of the circular tap as well.
These are not especially well-made, as I discovered after less than two weeks that the one in the front had slid out, leaving the magnet behind.
The door now only opens to the left, displaying an internal keg-insertion mechanism. The tap still attaches to the top of the keg, but it now glides in, leaving the keg floating in the air rather than on a cooling plate.
It’s a little simpler to enter the keg now, but the lack of locking arms makes it difficult to see if it’s entirely in. However, if you can shut the door and see no red on the logo, you’re good to go.
Surprisingly, neither the machine nor the package refers to the equipment as Pro. PerfectDraft 1.1 is referred to in one part of the instruction manual. Also, not that it matters, but Philips doesn’t make them like the original.
The App & Software
Connecting is a straightforward procedure that involves pressing the Wi-Fi button beneath the screen and then following the steps on the app to get the machine link to your network. Once linked, you may view numerous details about the beer & equipment. Specifically, the present temperature and, after you’ve poured the first beer, the remaining volume and days remaining.
Previously, the machine exhibited the number of days left, but now it only displays the temperature as well as an indicator of how much beer is gone. Instead of the original PerfectDraft’s nine bars, there are 4 yellow bars in the shape of a keg. However, the app provides a much better picture, and if you don’t like the capacity indicator in liters, you can also select UK pints, 33cl glasses, or fl oz.
Once you inserted your keg and chilled to the correct temperature, the app will alert you when it is ready. It may also notify you when the keg is nearly empty or it requires maintenance. You may also purchase new kegs from Beer Hawk via the store tab.
Features
One of the key new features of the PerfectDraft Pro beer machine is changeable temperature. It’s even more suitable now that the beer selection has expanded to include additional beers that may be drunk at temps different than the formerly restricted 3 degrees. This is something users want the original could do.
By default, one can change the temperature between 3 and 7 degrees using the buttons on each side of the screen or the app. If you use the latter, you must first enable the expanded range, which allows you to go as high as 12 degrees or as low as 0 degrees.
You’ll be advised that greater temperatures might result in pours with a larger head, but this isn’t going to be an issue. This might be due to the ‘Smart Pour technology,’ but no description of what this is or how it works is provided.
The system can chill kegs faster than the original, cooling them in 10 hours from room temp rather than 12 hours. When you insert a keg, the display reads 12 degrees after a long period with an orange line dancing about. It chilled the keg to 3 degrees in about 5 hours, which was impressive. It won’t take long if you have a large enough fridge to store a keg in.
Another enhancement is the capacity to maintain stability at temperatures as high as 38 degrees, compared to the normal PerfectDraft’s 31 degrees. I couldn’t verify this, but the warmest day of the year hit 30 degrees during testing, and the machine didn’t appear to need to work too hard.
On average, the Pro machine is quieter than the original – primarily due to the fans, but also to a lesser extent due to the air pump.
Improvements that can be made
While there aren’t many complaints about how effectively this machine works or the resultant pintPhilips can improve a few areas. The size is the first of these. While the Pro’s extra weight is intended to handle non-European kegs and more insulation, it’s a shame that more hasn’t been done to trim down the machine since the size is somewhat off-putting. You’ll need lots of open counter space in your kitchen or a separate bar area.
Another thing that may put folks off is the use of electricity. While the original PerfectDraft used an average of 40W and peaked at 70W, Philips’ claimed numbers indicate that the Pro consumes a maximum of 130W and an average of 72W at 25°C. If those estimates are correct and you want to leave the PerfectDraft Pro running 24 hours a day, it will cost you roughly 48p per day to run at current UK energy rates. With such a keg lasting an anticipated 3 weeks, it will cost about £10 to your energy bill for only three weeks.
Given the UK’s rising energy prices, it makes sense to pre-chill kegs in your fridge and perhaps keeps them there while you’re not using the PerfectDraft Pro – according to Philips’ own energy usage estimates, your ordinary fridge is significantly more energy efficient. It’s also better to switch off the machine while not using it.
Can you put PerfectDraft kegs in the freezer?
One cannot place kegs in a freezer because they may burst or freeze, causing harm to the pump motion of your machine.
Who owns Perfect Draft?
PerfectDraft is a beer tapping system developed by Belgian AB-InBev and Dutch Philips. The equipment is similar to those used for tapping beer at gatherings, except it uses steel, returnable six-liter kegs.
Conclusion
The PerfectDraft Pro is an amazing beer dispense machine for individuals who wish to enjoy draught pours at home with low effort and exceptional outcomes. However, it is more expensive & bulkier, so you must decide whether the extra features are worth the extra cost.
The ability to control the temperature is the key enhancement, so think about whether you’ll be drinking beers that use it. Still, overall speed is improved, and the app is a welcome addition, so there are compelling reasons to upgrade to the Pro model.
