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Heineken Sub delivers super-chilled lager to the home market

By David Szondy
October 24, 2013
Heineken Sub delivers super-chilled lager to the home market
The Sub chills beer to 2º C (35.6º F)
The Sub chills beer to 2º C (35.6º F)
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The Torp holds about eight glasses of beer
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The Torp holds about eight glasses of beer
The Torp comes in a choice of beers with more to follow
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The Torp comes in a choice of beers with more to follow
The Sub is a compact beer dispensing system
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The Sub is a compact beer dispensing system
The Sub is designed to sit on a counter
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The Sub is designed to sit on a counter
The Sub was engineered by Krups
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The Sub was engineered by Krups
The Sub chills beer to 2º C (35.6º F)
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The Sub chills beer to 2º C (35.6º F)
Accessories for the Sub include specially designed glassware
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Accessories for the Sub include specially designed glassware
The glassware for the Sub was designed by Marc Newson
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The glassware for the Sub was designed by Marc Newson
The Sub is intended to allow home beer drinkers to enjoy a "perfect pour"
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The Sub is intended to allow home beer drinkers to enjoy a "perfect pour"
The Sub accessory Hero case
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The Sub accessory Hero case
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When it comes to lager, it’s a matter of the colder the better. The trouble is, domestic fridges aren't very cold, and the alternative is either a cooler full of ice or a massive kegerator that’s more furniture than appliance. Last Friday, Heineken, in collaboration with Krups, unveiled its Sub beer dispenser in Amsterdam. Aimed at the at-home beer market, it combines compactness with some serious chill.

According to Heineken, the Sub is intended to “enable consumers to create the quality pour” at home. Designed by Marc Newson and engineered by Krups, it uses a proprietary mini-keg that fits snugly inside an airlocked cooling cylinder, where the brew is chilled to 2º C (35.6º F). Unlike a kegerator, this 412 x 503 mm (16.2 in x 19.8 in) unit has an anodized aluminum body weighing 6.8 kg (14.9 lb) and is designed to sit compactly on a home bar.

The key to the Sub system is the Torp, which is a 2-liter aluminum keg that is designed specifically to work with the Sub. The Torp holds about eight glasses of beer and can keep it fresh for 15 days after opening. Using the Sub’s website, Torps can be ordered online and delivered to your door where available. Heineken says that the first brands will include Heineken, Affligem, Desperados, Birra Moretti Baffo d'Oro with other brands to follow as well as seasonal beers.

In addition to the Sub, Marc Newson has designed optional extras including a full serving case, glassware, mats, and a skimmer. The Sub goes on the market in France and Italy in 2014 with a wider rollout to follow. No price has been listed.

The video below introduces the Sub

Source: Heineken

Heineken | Navigate THE SUB®

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8 comments
David Szondy
David Szondy
David Szondy is a playwright, author and journalist based in Seattle, Washington. A retired field archaeologist and university lecturer, he has a background in the history of science, technology, and medicine with a particular emphasis on aerospace, military, and cybernetic subjects. In addition, he is the author of four award-winning plays, a novel, reviews, and a plethora of scholarly works ranging from industrial archaeology to law. David has worked as a feature writer for many international magazines and has been a feature writer for New Atlas since 2011.

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8 comments
bergamot69
The alternative would be to pre-chill your beer in the freezer for a period- although from personal experience you have to watch the time to ensure you don't end up with beer-flavoured 'slush puppee'.
A lot of commercial lagers do need to be very cold only because if served closer to ambient temperature because their taste otherwise tends to be thin and 'synthetic' if not made more fizzy by chilling. Real ale, on the other hand, needs to be served cool rather than near freezing, as that way one can appreciate the very complex and highly nuanced flavours that tend to be absent from all but the best commercial lagers.
tyme2par4
"The trouble is, domestic fridges aren't very cold"
A standard refrigerator is set to 37F. 1 degree isn't anything huge, and if you put the beer towards the back where the air comes in, it's even colder.
HighPockets
Someone appears to know little about beer. Lagers should be served between 42-48° F, the former being the temperature of most refrigerators. If we are speaking of Coors which, if served, (it shouldn't be) can be as cold as one wants. There is no taste to speak of, hence the ad "Most refreshing."
Jay Finke
I would require 5 of these to do the job!
Slowburn
I have never had a refrigerator that if I cranked it all the way up I couldn't make ice cubes in the refrigerator compartment.
Pilsners such as Coors are for people that still have taste buds and don't want a glass of mud overpowering their food. I like mine just a little under room temperature.
Ed
A 2 liter "keg" is barely worth it! That's like, what....2 glasses? Yeah...not worth it! Make it fit your 2 gallon keg and we'll talk...but 2 liter? What is this? A sip?
Richard Dicky Riddlebarger
So it chills down 8 glasses at a time?, so what will my friends be drinking while I suck down the first 6........... and who needs to keep 8 classes of beer cold for 15 days, surely not a beer drinker.
ClubDoug
Sounds like it might be good for parties, but you would need several of them lined up. Haven't tried it yet but there is a kinda similar product available now in Australia called the "Tap King", which takes 3.2L containers of beer and dispenses them from tap, however it doesn't chill, so you simply place the whole thing in your refridgerator.