The Sub review: how does Beerwulf's compact beer tap perform?
You can get a draught pint without having to leave your home when this trusty contraption's around.
We reviewed The Sub to see if it's worth spending a little more for a pub-quality pint on your sofa.
IMPORTANT UPDATE: The Sub is no longer available for purchase
Unfortunately, The Sub beer dispenser from Beerwulf has been discontinued and is no longer available for sale.
If you're looking for alternatives to enjoy draught beer at home, there are several other options on the market worth considering. For those who enjoyed The Sub's compact design and ease of use, you might want to check out similar products such as the PerfectDraft systems or other home beer dispensers.
Overall rating: 3.5/5
Pros
Pours great pints
Loads of different beers to choose from
Looks good
Cons
More expensive than buying beer from shops
Noisy when pouring
Small size limits its usage
The Sub review: quick summary
When we tested The Sub we loved being able to quickly and easily pour draught pints at home. It's a nice reward on a Friday after a long week at work and feels a bit more special than picking up a six-pack from the shop on the way home.
And, at £125, it's not obscenely expensive, especially if a couple of you are clubbing together to buy it as a gift.
As an added bonus, The Sub looks pretty stylish on the side at home and won't spoil your kitchen aesthetic.
On the downside, it's more expensive than buying cans from the off-license, it's a little noisy when it pours and it's really designed for individual use rather than large groups.
If money was no object, we'd prefer to have a PerfectDraft (read our PerfectDraft Beer Dispenser review and PerfectDraft Pro review here), but since prices for those start at around £249, The Sub is a good budget option.
We think The Sub is a great gift for a beer lover, especially since there are loads of different beers to try, along with the old favourites.
The Sub review: full review
We were pretty excited when we got our hands on The Sub from Beerwulf, which promises pub-quality pints from the comfort of your own home.
The Sub is a slick bit of kit that doesn't look out of place on your kitchen side, and with its 30cm footprint, it doesn't take up too much space.
It's pretty easy to get going: just insert a two-litre keg (from a range of about 40 on the website), fiddle around with some piping and The Sub will begin chilling your beer.
If you've kept your mini-kegs in the fridge first, they'll be ready to drink in an hour or two. If they're at room temperature it'll be a while longer as The Sub chills your kegs to perfect drinking temperature. Once the light goes green, you're good to go.
We've seen a few people around the web complaining that The Sub produces too much foam, which is something we battled with initially. But if you follow the instructions (clear the nozzle when you first start pouring and then open the tap fully when you're pulling pints) it's a pretty easy solve.
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However, there are a couple of downsides to The Sub. For starters, it's certainly more expensive than buying your beer at the supermarket as it'll set you back over £100 if you buy it with kegs.
It also takes quite a long time to chill and pressurise your mini-kegs once you've placed them inside, which means you're probably waiting a couple of hours between pints when you do a keg change. This basically rules out The Sub as a useful gadget for entertaining if you're planning on drinking more than two litres.
Finally, it's a little noisy when you pull pints and it hums for about 20 seconds after you've finished pouring.
The Sub review: the verdict
For its price, we really like The Sub. It does what it's supposed to and it gives you an excuse to sample beers you wouldn't normally try.
While there are better beer dispensers out there you can buy for your home, there's none that can beat The Sub on price and we'd gladly break ours out for special occasions going forwards.
Remember, The Sub is no longer available for purchase. For current beer dispenser options, check out our best beer dispensers roundup for alternatives that are still on the market.
Do you have to plug in Beerwulf Sub?
The beer tap must be plugged in at least an hour before the desired serve time. It is ready to use when the light turns green. The instructions are easy to follow and there's also a handy video to explain the set up process.
What are some alternatives to Beerwulf's Sub machine?
If you want to try something else out, then there are many alternatives that do the same job as Beerwulf.
Here are some other designs from well-known brands on the market:
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