Guide to Draft Beer Faucets

You may think that if you’ve seen one draft beer faucet, you’ve seen them all–never giving much thought to the features that differentiate the various faucets on the market. After all, faucets are nothing more than spouts where the beer comes out, right?

Wrong.

Your faucet is an integral part of your draft beer dispensing system, and like most other parts of your system, you’ve got plenty of options to choose from to help meet your pouring needs as precisely as possible.

From standard to premium Perlick, chrome to stainless steel, and so much more, the universe of draft beer faucets at KegWorks is carefully curated to ensure that we’ve got the goods for your particular pouring situation.

What Is a Draft Beer Faucet?

Before we start talking about all of the options available for your draft beer faucet, let’s talk about what exactly a beer faucet is.

In the simplest terms, your draft beer faucet attaches directly to the shank or tower of your dispensing system. It is the last part of your system that touches the beer before it ends up in your glass. As such, it plays a crucial role in dispensing your brew by helping to direct the flow. Without a faucet, you’d have an uncontrollable cascade of beer that would be nearly impossible to get into a glass.

But not all pouring situations are created equal. For that reason, there are myriad faucet types, designs, and materials.

 

Standard Draft Beer Faucets

Basic Draft Beer Faucets

Our basic draft beer faucets are a cost-effective option, perfectly suitable for an entry-level kegerator. They are rear-sealing, connect directly to the shank or draft beer tower, and include a ⅜-inch threaded lever that fits virtually any tap handle for easy operation.

These faucets are typically made from brass but some of them feature a chrome finish to provide a brilliant metallic shine. Some standard faucets offer a stainless steel lever to improve strength and decrease the odds of performance issues caused by a lever break from frequent, vigorous use.

Stainless Steel Draft Beer Faucets

Stainless steel faucets are an upgrade over the standard option. Although they don’t add any additional functionality, stainless steel is a premium construction material. After years of use and exposure to low-level acidity from both the beer itself and various cleaning agents, a traditional chrome-plated faucet may begin to corrode and impart unwelcome flavors to your brew, but stainless steel resists corrosion. For that reason, stainless steel is a must if you want to dispense wine, coffee, or cocktails on tap because the acidity in these beverages will almost immediately corrode the finish of a plated-brass faucet and render whatever winds up in your glass undrinkable.

The Next Step Up

Self-Closing Faucets

A standard self-closing faucet does exactly what its name promises: it closes itself! The rest of the construction is the same as a standard faucet, but instead of having to manually push it closed, it will return to the closed position when you take your hand off the lever. This is a great option to help conserve beer and prevent accidental spills.

Creamer Faucets

Just like a self-closing faucet, a standard creamer faucet generally has the same construction and finish options as a standard faucet, but it adds a greatly enhanced level of control over the creamy head of your pint. The lever is specially constructed so that when you pull it forward, beer flows freely, but when you push it back you can deliver as much creamy foam as desired to add to the aesthetics and taste of your brew.

Flow Control Faucets

If you’re going to be pouring sampler glasses, using frosty mugs, or frequently changing your keg to vastly different styles of brew, a flow control faucet will help manage your pour with ease. These faucets feature a special lever on the side that restricts and unrestricts the flow so that you don’t end up with a foamed-over glass.

Perlick: The Premium Option

At KegWorks, we proudly carry the whole 600 series of Perlick draft beer faucets. All of these faucets feature Perlick’s legendary engineering innovation, including a unique forward-sealing design that greatly reduces oxygen exposure, a clean-pouring vertical spout that prevents old beer from collecting in a flat area and attracting bacteria or other contaminants, and a revolutionary “floating ball lever” that eliminates sticking and ensures a positive seal.

Most of these faucets also feature premium 304 stainless steel construction that will last forever, without ever impacting the flavor of your brew. This makes Perlick a perfect option for dispensing coffee, wine, or cocktails as well.

Any of our standard faucets will certainly let you get beer from the keg to your glass, but when you get serious about your dispensing and want to take things to the next level, Perlick is the way to go.

Perlick Perl 630

This is the basic model of Perlick draft beer faucet. It offers all of the features listed above and comes in a stainless steel or tarnish-free brass finish.

We also offer an economy Perlick Perl 630 that’s made from chrome-plated brass. Although you’ll sacrifice the benefits of stainless steel construction, you still get all of the engineering performance of a Perlick at a price that works with any budget.

Perlick Perl 650

The stainless steel Perlick Perl 650 is Perlick’s flow control faucet. It combines the unbeatable quality of Perlick with the utility of a carefully balanced flow control lever that helps you pour successfully in just about any dispensing situation you can dream up. Learn more about this model here.

Perlick Perl 680

Only available in stainless steel, the Perlick Perl 680 is a creamer faucet. It’s lever features a small piston with miniature holes. When pouring from a properly engaged lever, the beer is forced through these miniature holes and the resulting turbulence creates a rich head that serves as the perfect finishing touch to your pour.

Perlick Perl 690

If you really want complete power over your draft beer dispensing, the Perlick Perl 690 is for you. It offers all of the options from the rest of the Perlick Perl 600 series in one faucet. Yeah, you read that right. This faucet has all of Perlick’s incredible design advantages, stainless steel construction, creamer action, AND flow control. Consider this the absolute apex of pouring. Learn more about this model here.

Nitro Stout Draft Beer Faucets

Any of the above faucets are specially designed for pouring traditional beers that are dispensed via CO2. If you want to serve up Guinness, Boddington’s, Murphy’s, or any other brew that requires nitrogen or mixed gas for dispensing, you’ll need a special Nitrogen Stout Beer Faucet.

These long, narrow faucets are available in chrome-plated brass, brass, or stainless steel models. This narrow design pairs with a special restrictor disc inside to help power the beer quickly through the faucet, creating the cascading, thick head typically associated with nitro brews. For maximum versatility, you can easily remove the restrictor disc and use this faucet to dispense “regular” CO2-powered beers.

 

Extended Spout Draft Beer Faucets

Extended spout faucets, available in standard and premium models, help you control your pour by creating less distance (and thus less loose foam) between the faucet and the glass, pitcher, or growler you’re trying to fill. The extended spout is also ideal for dispensing wine because the limited drop helps prevent over-oxidization while pouring.

So there you have it. That’s everything you might want to know about the range of draft beer faucets we carry here at KegWorks. As you can tell, you have lots of choices, and we understand that might seem intimidating. But at the end of the day, all that matters is that you get the right faucet for your particular needs.

If you have any further questions or would like more help picking out your draft beer faucet, please feel free to reach out on Facebook or at social@kegworks.com.