Mini kegs like the Newcastle Brown Ale have been available for a few years now. But now, after years of waiting in anticipation and jealousy, you can finally get one with good beer.
My friends, I enjoy good beer but I’m not one of those beer snobs. I don’t go for the crazy beer that’s made by some random monks once a decade. Hells no. Most of those random beers taste like horse piss. I often enjoy seasonal Sam Adams, Coors, or a Miller higher-end brew. And yes, an occasional Milwaukee’s Best if I’m “shooting the shit” with my father-in-law. I’m not saying that The Beast is a good beer though. Nope, I’m just attempting to describe my beer pedigree.
I’ve told you all that to tell you this. Heniken is not a good beer. Sorry. You are wrong if you disagree. And because of that fact, I have never used one of these DraughtKegs. I didn’t see the point if they were only available with crappy beer in them.
You know what though? These things rock. I pray you didn’t already know that because if you did, then you probably drink shit beer.
All you need to do is throw the keg in the fridge for a few hours before it sits out at the party. Tapping it is easy. All you do is slip on the straw and snap the tap onto the top. Just like taps on normal kegs, easy does it or you end up with a lot of head. But with the right amount of pressure, you should end up with the perfect glass of Newcastle Brown Ale. (80% beer & 20% head)
Newcastle Brown Ale is really a good keg beer. I’ve had it a few times out of a bottle, but the keg beer has always tasted better. This time was no different. I purchased a six pack of the beer to supplement the DraughtKeg, and it wasn’t nearly as good out of the bottle.
I found the Brown Ale to be dark in taste, but still refreshing. Normally I can’t have more than two tall boys of a dark beer, but I had my share of Brown Ale. That’s partly because it doesn’t have the strong aftertaste found in many darker beers. Out of the DraughtKeg, it had a clean finish. The bottled beer had a slight shunkiness to it.
The MSRP of the Newcastle Brown Ale is only $22.99 but YMMV. It’s ultimately up to your local retailer how much they sell it for. The six pack I purchased was $9.99, which is really high here in Michigan where a six pack of Miller Light goes for $5.99 and six pack of Sam Adams runs around $6.99.
This DraughtKeg is one hell of a deal at around $23. They hold around 4.3 liters which works out to be about seven 22-ounce glasses. Buying two six packs nets your more beer, but in this case at least, the beer is a lot more fresh coming from the DraughtKeg. Plus, the mini keg gets bonus points for being awesome.