Tap upgrades!

This one's been long overdue! I decided to ship myself some supplies for my birthday this year, and top of the list was this Perlick flow control faucet.

Perlicks have a forward-sealing design, which minimises stuck taps from beer build-up after the pour. And that's exactly the problem I had with the generic taps (pictured on right) which came with my kegerator. The tap kept jamming up especially between pours, and I really don't want to have to take the tap apart after every other pour just to keep it smooth.

The Perlick faucets come in several models, but despite the lack of reviews (as compared to the standard 525SS Perlick) I ran with the flow control facuets. These have a little lever on the right side of the faucet, which acts as a flow restrictor. So no matter the carbonation level of the keg, you can tweak the little lever to product the perfect pour. In my first try, it was a little counter-intuitive, but I can see this being such a godsend. No more pours containing 100% foam, or bursting my brains about tubing restriction and pressures!

What do I not like, though? For one, the flow control faucets only come in chrome-plated. I would love to see Perlick offer a stainless steel option. Also, my old tap was actually spring-loaded - after a pour, the handle would spring back into the "off" position. In comparison, I had to take extra care to push the handle back for the Perlick. It's just a remote possibility that someone may come by and brush against the handle, causing it to come on, but hey - any precautionary measures would still be nice!

Would I buy the flow controls again? In a pinch, yes - simply because they fill up some of the most pressing gaps in my kegerator system. But Perlick - if you do make them in stainless steel and with a spring, I'll gladly buy them a hundred times over!