Fancy a pint? How to enjoy great draft beer at home

Sometimes, beer from cans or bottles doesn't quite hit the spot. It's all lovely, but it's hard to beat the taste, the feel, the aesthetic of a cool, high-quality pint from the tap in a pub. However, this comes with a downside: the price matches the quality.

It's great to support your local, whether you're a true beer lover or just like the odd pint, but not everyone can afford to pay pub prices every time they want a drink. Luckily, there are two great ways around that, allowing you to enjoy fresh beer with a keg-quality pour in the comfort of your own home.

In this guide, we'll show you how to save money on draft beer at home with home beer dispensers and homebrewing kits. We'll also let you know all the best products to help you get started.

You can buy a home beer tap, a fantastic gadget of the modern day that lets you set up your own keg and pull pints, like a bartender, whenever you like. If you're a craft type, however, you might prefer to make your own beer at home, to put your own personal spin on it.

Either way, you get something a little more authentic and fresh than a multipack of cans, something to impress guests with, and a better price per pint than you can expect from the pub (or even the supermarket!).

Read on to learn more about each of these two ways to enjoy pub-quality pints in the comfort of your own home.

Home beer dispensers

One of the easiest ways to get the perfect pint at home is with a draft beer pump or a beer dispenser you buy, set up, and fill with beer. These beer machines work very similarly to the beer tap systems you see in pubs.

You put your glass under the nozzle, pull the tap, and pour yourself a foaming pint of cold beer. If you don't have professional experience, it might take some practice, but eventually you can get pub-quality pours of perfectly chilled beer, of your choice, all with the help of this great gadget.

Apart from anything else, a draft beer dispenser is a fun gadget for an avid beer drinker to have. It's unusually cool for a kitchen appliance, or a game-changer for a home bar. Opening a drink is all well and good, but pulling a perfectly-poured pint of premium lager from a draft beer machine is on another level.

You're also spoiled for choice when it comes to home beer dispensers, with a wide selection on the market. 

Before you buy, consider: 

There's little point in having a Beerwulf BLADE beer tap if you can't buy the beer you want in BLADE kegs for it. Similarly, having a small home beer pump that can only hold a few pints of craft beer might be inconvenient if you prefer classic lagers and want to pour them for a party's worth of people.

Brewing beer in your own home

If you want a more involved way to enjoy a fresh pint without pub prices, and want to pick up a new hobby, you might want to consider homebrewing.

In particular, this isn't just a great way to get cheap draft beer at home. It also lets you pick up a new skill, get to understand the process behind your favourite drink better, and take part in one of the oldest crafts humans have ever practised. On top of that, it's just fun.

How to make beer

Making homemade beer isn't an arcane art or forbidden knowledge only a few can learn. At base, you need a big airtight container, warm water, malt, yeast, and time. Combine the water and malt, and add the yeast (and hops for flavour). Wait a while, and you have beer.

Of course, making good beer is a bit more precise than that, and a little more difficult to get right, but it really is something that almost anyone can do. If you do it right, then you can have a unique lager, hoppy IPA or ale nobody else can offer, a great thing to hand around at parties, and a fantastic source of drinks at a great value.

We won't explain the entire process here, as that's several articles in its own right. However, there are fantastic guides online and a whole community of homebrew fanatics who love to give people tips on brewing the perfect pint.

Getting started with homebrewing

Even a modest homebrewing setup can produce more than twenty litres of beer (more than 35 pints!) for a lot less than you might expect. Do note that there is an upfront cost, especially if you go for a starter kit or some higher-tech equipment. After that, however, you can often make beer for less than a pound per pint.

If you are just getting started with making your own pub-quality beer, we recommend using a starter kit. You can find ones targeted specifically at beginners that will walk you through the process step by step, tailored for almost any beer style you prefer.

Learn how to make classic lagers, bitter ales, Belgian blondes, dark stouts, and so much more just by finding the right kit for you. Once you've made a few batches, you can start experimenting and tweaking, or even expanding your setup, until you have a vast supply of good-value beer that you can take pride in.

There are more brewing methods, hand tools, beer recipes, styles, and preferences than we can possibly name in this article. Regardless, with homebrewing, you can make a great beer that will please any beer drinker, all with that personal touch.

At its most efficient and in bulk, once you have your equipment set up, you can brew beer for less than a pound per pint. That's better than pub, beer tap, or most supermarket prices. Apart from the savings, it's just fun, a hobby that can easily fill your time and give you something to show for it.

Bottled or draft homebrew beer?

Making draft beer at home can be harder than bottling it when you're done, but it's more than doable. Move it to a beer keg after it's fermented, leave to condition with secondary fermentation and then to chill. Once it's at the perfect temperature, you have pint after pint of perfect draft beer, every bit as fresh as if it had been poured at the pub, which you can enjoy while you start brewing the next lot.

Otherwise, a brewer still gets a unique, high-quality experience from bottled beers, resulting in something you won't find in bars or supermarkets. The low price per pint or bottle definitely helps as well!

Combine both methods for the ultimate beer machine

If you want a draft beer experience that is truly yours, from start to finish, there is an even further step you can take. It's not hassle-free, but you can upgrade your home beer tap to pour homebrew beer from the keg, rather than branded beer you've bought online.

This generally requires you to modify and sanitise used kegs that came with the machine, both to ensure they can hold a new type of beer and that you don't pour spoiled beer or a glass of foam. Nonetheless, there are plenty of guides online, and a few well-built gadgets you can buy, to make the process easier.

At the very least, this can be done with Beerwulf BeerTender and PerfectDraft keg machines, and you may be able to find help to pull it off with most brands. Alternatively, the smaller Pinter machines are designed for you to brew your own beer and then pour it from the same vessel, achieving this in a ready-to-go product.

It's not as easy as buying a home beer starter pack and just enjoying a glass with little hassle. Nonetheless, drinking your own stock of beer, kept at the optimal temperature, poured into a glass with the perfect head from a professional machine, just might be the ultimate home beer experience.

The best beer dispensers & homebrewing brands

If you're a beer connoisseur, then pouring the perfect pint is something that means a lot to you. You don't just want cheap beers with a bit of flair; you want something you can be proud to pour, drink, and serve to others. This is true whether you're getting your own brewing equipment and dried yeast to make it yourself, or just getting a home draft beer machine to enjoy with low hassle.

Luckily, there's plenty to choose from, and enough quality out there on the market for either approach that you can be sure of quality. Whatever style, type, or flavour you prefer, there's something for all beer fans to enjoy at a reasonable price.

The best home beer taps

The beer on tap market has exploded in the United Kingdom, going from a niche gadget to something that's practical to store and operate in most homes. With so many drink dispensers on the market, it's worth looking at some of the top-rated brands and their best offerings before deciding which one suits you the best.

The best homebrewing brands for beginners

There are as many ways to brew beer as there are brewers. Experienced hobbyists will have their own bespoke ways of cleaning their equipment, preparing the malt, treating the wort, and making the beer they love. If you're just starting out, however, there are a few brands perfect for you.

Ale's well that ends well

There are few luxuries like a good draft beer, and you can take a little more power in where and how you drink it, and what you drink. While almost everyone wants to support their local, you can drink beer, fresh from the tap, possibly even brewed by your own hands.

With this article, you now know how to make, pour, and drink draft lager at home (or pale ale, or wheat beer, or whatever you prefer). The sky's the limit now, whether you buy beer for a home beer tap, brew your own and serve it from the keg, or combine both for an experience to remember.

Treat yourself and the beer fans in your life to something unforgettable and save money in the process. At the very least, you'll either get yourself a relaxing new hobby or a fantastic new household gadget!