Performance: we tested the quality of the pint from each of the dispensers. If there was additional functionality or uses we tested these ,too. Consider yourself a bona fide beer aficionado? If you know your IPAs from your stouts, chances are you've considered setting up an at-home bar of some sort to enjoy your brews away from the local watering hole. It should go without saying that tabletop beer dispensers are growing in popularity – much to your local barkeep's chagrin – and even if the weather is winding down to winter and BBQ season is over, it doesn't mean you can't enjoy a good sup from the comfort of your own sofa. Just take a look at the wealth of beer advent calendars to see the truth of that statement. Also like the original, the new machine takes the 6-litre PerfectDraft kegs. That’s good news: there’s no two-tier system, with some beers only available for the new machine. Here, any keg can fit into any machine.

Instead, you simply insert the bottle or can of beer you want to drink and it is dispensed through the machine. Want to brew and drink an ale that Bilbo Baggins and Co would be happy with? Then look no further than the Pinter 2, a proper barrel of fun (and alcohol) to elevate your session with mates. Salter recommends that you pre-chill your kegs to help. That sounds fine in practice, but since kegs are designed to last for up to 30 days, there’s a fairly short window in which to drink the contents of the keg – unless you’re having a party, that is. The PerfectDraft system will cool your beer to 3ºC for the full life of the keg.

Fear not, there are plenty of affordable, budget-friendly options to choose from online, including your favourite - or next favourite - beer. We thought The Sub looked very cool - it’s a bit different to other machines as the keg that goes inside is laid on its side rather than upright, which gives this device its cylindrical “submarine” design.

While it would be easier for brands to list keg and dispenser capacities in pints — that’s how we like to drink it, after all — they’re measured in litres. (There’s 1.76 pints in a litre, so that’s just under two pints.) Most dispensers hold kegs of around 5 litres, though some will hold a little more or less. What types of beer do dispensers use? You can choose from flavours that range from dark, roasty stouts, to light and hazy tropical pales. Value for money: we assessed whether the performance, ease of use and additional functionality justified the price. We also tested beer dispensers at a variety of prices to see if it was necessary to spend more money. Plus, you can get your hands on kegs from Corona, Jupiler, Leffes, Stella Artois, Thornbridge and more with your machine as part of a starter bundle. Coming in at around the same size as a coffee machine, the Fizzics device took less than a minute to get set up and didn’t take over our entire kitchen worktop.However, the machine didn't feel as high quality to use - the tap felt quite flimsy and the drip tray was quite cheap looking. Pull the perfect pint at home with an adjustable CO2 gas control and built in cooling system to chill kegs between 3 and 6 degrees.

Prefer a refreshing non-alcoholic beverage? Take a look at our range of juicers which offer a delicious alternative. The machine was heavy, and we couldn’t lift the box on our own. It’s quite plain looking but we liked that you could customise the beer pump with a selection of badges.Ease of use: we judged the products on the clarity of their set-up instructions and how easy it was to carry them out. We were also looking for products that were going to require minimum effort on an ongoing basis. The difficulty with the Salter Universal Chilled Draught Beer Dispenser is that it needs to cater for both types of keg, neither of which has been specifically designed for machine use. To fit a keg, I had to position the long adaptor. This has to be pushed through the hole on top of the keg (vent or tap), but it isn’t as easy a process as I had first thought. They loved the strong “man cave vibes” but, frankly, we were more concerned about how heavy it was to lug around. It gets easier to change kegs with practice, but the process still proved more difficult than with the PerfectDraft machine.