It looks quite nice, and would be excellent for impressing folks at a picnic. However, a full size kegerator will set you back only a couple bills more and ultimately save you money on your alcolholism - er, I mean 'habit' since you can toss a full size keg in the sucker.

looks nice but just about 1.3 gallons i think.
were going to need the big one^^

Yeah, price point is off. I'd be down for one of these in an instant at $100-125 but for $299.00 plus shipping, handling and tax, i'd rather splurge for the full size kegerator.

I agree about the price point, hell you can buy the do it yourself kit and build your own for much less. All though it may bot be as pretty.

299???

Cost of fridge, you pick size - free off craigslist, takes 1-4 weeks of watching the free list.

Cost of complete tap and regulator setup - 100-125 depending on the level you want at beveragefactory.com

Cost of a 5lbs CO2 tank - 61 dollars at beveragefactory.com YMMV on price locally.

13 dollars shipping.

So, for less money I can get a full sized keg fridge that can hold any beer. For 300 bucks I get something for my countertop that holds mini kegs, which many beers don't come in. The only good one I can think of was this summer Belles Brewery out of Kalamazoo, MI had Oberon in mini kegs. Mostly I just see shit-tastic Heineken, which is even being used in the picture for this story. I don't know anyone who choose Heineken for their primary beer.

Sorry guys, this sucks ass.

I got my kegerator on sale for $429 a few years back, and it's definitely a better option. That mini is nice if you have a really small place, but for $300, it's not a very good choice otherwise.

@bigTrue: Nice. I didn't see Oberon kegs (mini or full size) when I was in MI late last month, so I had to buy a couple liquor stores out of their Oberon cases. I'm quite happy with my purchase.

It looks like you can order a decent variety of 5 liter kegs online, as long as you are one of the 23 states that allows alcohol to be shipped. Seeing as how I can't justify an entire half barrel for myself, this is definitely a cool idea, although, it's still $300!

I have one of these at home. They've been on the market in de BENELUX and Germany for a few years now. Philips makes them and they're called PerfectDraft. We can buy Stella Artois, Jupiler and Leffe kegs here in Belgium, but i believe there's a website which sells kegs filled with all kinds of beers.

Anywho, they cost around 200€'s and are quite handy. It stands on the kitchen counter here (you wouldn't be able to do that with a big keg) and it's always there for me whenever i need a good cold one. :)

Not as cool as the automatic beer pouring machine in Japan, but not bad...

never seen a non-garbage beer in a 5 liter keg. Around here it is all oranjboom and heineken.. both of which taste like balls and smell like sweat socks...

I agree, there aren't too many beers that I like that are offered in these sizes. I'm not much of a Heineken fan either...

You people are out of your mind. How does Heineken taste bad!? Especially out of a keg. This is worth buying just for Heineken alone. And duh! does anyone use google to find out what is in a 5 liter before they open their big mouths to say nothing comes in it. NOthing I hate worse is hater posters that just down a product becuase they can. Look here people: [beergeek.stores.yahoo.net]

I suppose you'll all say this is crap beer too. Do your research!!!

Yes, Heineken is bad beer. If you gotta go Euro, drink Stella Artois and have a little class. Heineken is pretty much in the same class as Budweiser or Fosters. Crap beers that made it around the world through market saturation, not quality. Corona's up there too, since if you're gonna drink Mexican you have to go Negro Modelo.

Who would actually pay more money for less machine and then have to mail order the beer in minikegs, paying for shipping? I mis-spoke, since I didn't think anyone would actually pay more money for an item that would then cause more trouble by having to ship beer to me. Again, I point out I can pay less money and have a keg fridge with any beer available in kegs that I can go pick up at a local store. I MIGHT have to wait 1-2 days if it's something weird, but no shipping charge. Since I have a relationship with the really nice beer store up the street, I get 10% off keg prices, and I can simply call in my order.

So, again, why would you pay more money for less machine and much more hassle here? If you've got the extra cash to blow on the machine and shipping, you should have the extra space to have a keg fridge. Plus, what's cooler, honestly, having this thing on your counter, or having a custom painted keg fridge in a garage you've converted into the ultimate lounge, with couches, a pingpong/pool/beer pong table, TV, stereo, and a huge custom firepit in the backyard?

Expensive gadget, just buy a $.50 bottle opener and drink some Hoegaarden.

@CFARAG: I wasn't aware that drinking beer was no longer a personal choice anymore. Sorry if I offended you and your skunky beer preferring taste buds.

It looks like Hammacher is repackaging the recently released Avanti MBD5L for a significant markup. beveragefactory.com has the Avanti branded kegerator for $225 with free shipping. cf. [www.beveragefactory.com]