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Hands on with Tap King

July 2, 2013 by Matt Kirkegaard

It was with an unusual degree of enthusiasm, bordering on excitement, that yesterday afternoon I unpacked a Tap King for trial and review.

Tap King unpacked
Tap King unpacked

The new draught beer at home system from Lion comes complete with the usual PR-hype promising to be revolutionary and innovative but, with the hyperbole filtered out, it still delivers on much of its promise.

Unpacking is easy, with the Tap King itself essentially a self-contained fascia into which the specially-designed 3.2L PET bottles is easily inserted and locked. The only additional installation required is the removable and retractable drip tray.

It’s much more complicated than a simple PET bottle. There have been many questions asked about whether the bottles are hackable by homebrewers for refilling. I am sure that clever types may be able to do this, with work, though whether the effort warrants the return is up for debate.

The whole package is very sleek and comes with easy-to-follow instructions, and an entertaining instructional video is available online if needed. It really shouldn’t be.

The combined unit is much smaller than expected, roughly as wide as a standing six-pack though a little longer, and it contains the equivalent of approximately eight-and-a-half 375ml stubbies worth of beer. At a RRP of between $33-$48 for a twin-pack of refills, it costs about $1.94 – $2.82 per stubby equivalent.

I have a relatively small fridge – at least there never seems to be enough room – and was fully expecting to have to visit a friend with the  promise of free beer to trial it. This wasn’t needed and a small amount of rearranging saw it easily accommodated. It should fit nicely in any fridge that currently has a six-pack in it.

Pop the cap and things look more complicated than they really are.
Pop the cap and things look more complicated than they really are.

This latter point gets around one of the potential criticisms that I have heard of the system, being it is best suited to households that have a second (beer) fridge. It arrives on the market at a time when electricity prices are going up and green footprints are very much a matter of public consciousness, to the point of being urged to get rid of beer fridges. Assuming it’s designed to replace the existing six pack rather than augment it, it’s a clever move to lock up the space in the fridge to Lion products. In the days of the portfolio drinker its a smart approach, especially if some of Lion’s extensive brewed-under-licence portfolio is added to the line-up. This would also lend weight to one comment I had heard from a craft brewer, that – as consumers increasingly drink beer at home rather than in hotels – Lion is moving from contracting hotel taps to essentially contract home fridges. This seems a little harsh. If the consumer’s approach is to give limited fridge space to Tap King rather than a six-pack, there is no compulsion for them to do so, other than it being a compelling marketing idea. And that’s really the point of good marketing, to provide the consumer with something they actually want.

Although cautioned to let the system chill for nine hours, I couldn’t wait and was rewarded with a glass of foam. Heed the advice and let your bottle cool overnight. Of course, this requires more fridge space for replacements – and planning to make sure that you’re not making the potentially risky move of crash-chilling your next beer in the freezer.

The beer pours quite well for a home system. Some care is required to get a perfect pour – at least with the supplied James Squire Golden Ale – but it is doable with a minimum of practice. The sprung drip tray is a clever design feature that retracts when you are pouring but pops out as you finish.

As a beer writer, it is very easy to over-think Tap King. But for the consumer, it is just fun. It lends some theatre to the experience of drinking beer at home, more than just pulling at a ring-pull or turning a twist-top. It’s very cool to be able to pour yourself a beer from the tap at home in a fairly stylish and convenient way, without great expense. It may not change the flavour of the beer, but it certainly changes the experience.

Plenty of space even in a medium sized fridge.
Plenty of space even in a medium-sized fridge.

The beer selection isn’t going to win praise from the entrenched craft beer drinker, but we do make up a very small part of the market. With the money that has been poured into this project – reportedly in the many tens of millions – this is distinctly targeting the mainstream beer market. The beer selection reflects this audience. But here is where personally I think the Tap King is at its best. Craft beer provides its own excitement and interest. The mainstream beer market has been flagging for much more than a generation. The big brewers have been flailing in their battles to reclaim ‘share of throat’.  Judging by the level of interest that has been shown already just through Google searches for the product – and in my own sense of anticipation to try it – the Tap King has the capacity to generate some real excitement in the traditional beer market.

While beer geeks may be disappointed at the selection, it’s still a positive initiative from Lion. Beer lovers should applaud anything that creates interest and excitement in beer and has the potential to bring beer – any beer – to a wider market. Whether Tap King does this, whether it is a short-term novelty or an innovation with real legs, time will tell. But, to me, it does represent an attempt to entice drinkers back to beer, rather than merely fight for a larger share of a shrinking market. It’s certainly worthy of cheers rather than sneers for this.

There are plenty of questions about Lion’s plans for the system and I have an interview scheduled with Lion’s Marketing Director, Matt Tapper, is a few weeks. So, if there’s anything you would like to know, post your questions below. Otherwise, Tap King will be available for your own trial in 5 days. The dispenser unit will cost around $32.99.

www.tapking.com

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kris Domagala says

    July 2, 2013 at 4:21 pm

    Do the bottles have a self-contained gas charger, or does the unit instead draw surrounding air in when beer is poured? I wonder, as the latter would surely reduce the shelf-life of the beer upon opening.

    • Editor says

      July 2, 2013 at 4:23 pm

      It does seem to have a self-container gas charger as the information promises 21 days shelf life. This is one of the things I need to check when I speak with Matt Tapper.

    • Jack says

      July 2, 2013 at 9:01 pm

      The gas charger (if it has one) would be the primary hurdle to hacking this into a homebrew device. Not that you would need it of course Kris.

      • Kris Domagala says

        July 11, 2013 at 11:10 am

        I was more interested in it from a shelf-life perspective. I’m sure there will be some homebrewers who will have a go at it, but I’m content with my 19L kegs 😉

  2. Mike at Old Bar says

    July 2, 2013 at 5:24 pm

    Any news on the grapevine of CUB or even Coopers looking to introduce a similar unit or have they been nicely ambushed here?

  3. br00z3 says

    July 2, 2013 at 5:28 pm

    It is refreshing to read an impartial review that is about the (innovations to) beer and not the brewery… nice one

  4. Glen says

    July 2, 2013 at 5:52 pm

    Was wondering how you buy refills for this. Are they supposed to be available at bottle shops everywhere? Or do you have to order them?

  5. Tim says

    July 2, 2013 at 8:17 pm

    How many 3.2L bottles can it pour before the gas runs out?
    Does someone need to buy a whole new tap when gas runs out??

  6. Kent Dempsey says

    July 3, 2013 at 7:58 am

    I did a product trial of this unit at least a year ago (which arose from one of the online survey groups of which I’m a member) and really liked it.

    There was a follow up interview in which I couldn’t unfortunately participate (we had a new baby and they wanted a 1hr interview at home, which we just really couldn’t accomodate) so I had no idea if this would ever actually be released, glad it has been.

    I really liked the system and found it to be a great product. The only problem I had, was that the bottles contain a small tube that comes down from the lid (similar to in pump-pack hand soap) and if this has become bent or warped, you can’t see this through the bottle, so if you’ve laid it flat in the fridge and this tube has happened to be bent upwards when the bottle’s flat (hopefully I’m explaining this properly), the dispenser is unable to pull all the beer out from the bottle once the level falls below where the end of the tube is. As such you’d often find when you removed the ’empty’ bottle that there was still a few hundred mL left in the bottom that you’d then just have to pour into a glass, so it’s not really then dispensed properly.

    They could get around this by using stiffer tubes, or engineering it somehow so that when the bottle attached into the dispenser (only goes in one way, in one exact position, the way the system’s designed) that this tube always points right down to the bottom of the bottle when it’s lying flat.

    I might pop this info on their FB page actually…

  7. Josh Hardie says

    July 3, 2013 at 3:32 pm

    One advantage I see to this system is that it forces the user to stop drinking out of the bottle / can, and out of a glass, which should enhance the aroma / taste, irrespective of what brand of beer it is.

    Nothing screams lowbrow to me than drinking out of the packaging. Drinking out of a glass raises the profile of beer IMO

    • Editor says

      July 11, 2013 at 8:20 am

      Sorry for the delay in replying, we have had a glitch with our comments system.

      Good point Josh.

  8. Travis says

    July 4, 2013 at 11:19 am

    Do you know if there is a list of stockists available anywhere?

    • Editor says

      July 11, 2013 at 8:20 am

      Sorry for the delay i replying, we have had a glitch with our comments. I understand that Tap King is having a soft launch and will be fully available closer to the end of July. It will be available at major liquor retailers, so think Dan Murphy’s, First Choice etc.

  9. Sam S says

    July 11, 2013 at 7:18 am

    Had the opportunity to try a James Squires Tap King the other day and was relatively impressed. Tasted it side by side with the packaged bottle. Whilst not a Squires golden ale fan any more, the flavour profile of the bottle and TK were very similar with the major difference being the carbonation. TK has a very thick creamy head and mouth feel of Kilkenny draught which makes it very smooth.
    Your thoughts of the finished product?

    • Editor says

      July 11, 2013 at 8:15 am

      You have summed up my thoughts on it to a T. Tap King does give a creamy head, but I have found that after a week or so the carbonation seems much lower. I am following up on some technical aspects with Lion and will report back.

  10. Kylie conroy says

    July 17, 2013 at 10:09 pm

    Where can I get one??? Who’s selling this??
    I must have one!!

  11. Paul says

    July 30, 2013 at 12:29 pm

    Got mine today from Dan Murphy’s, I am trying the “Chancer” and have to say it is great, better than the bottled version of the same brew. I home they release the other James Squire beers in this format.

    • Hargy says

      July 30, 2013 at 7:06 pm

      I love the entire James Squire range. Sampled each on tap at the Brewhouse in Melbourne. Hopefully it won’t be long before more are added.

Category: Features Tagged: Lion, Tap King

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