Why is craft beer on draft different than in the bottle/can?

Budweiser is different on draft also. I did a side by side at an Elks club about a year ago. A bottle poured into a glass and a draft. The draft had more flavor and a bit more body.

 

Carbonation is huge factor. In fact, the same beer can vary in taste from different draft set-ups. Also, beer poured from the tap has a chance to agitate vs a can. Try pouring it into a glass and then do a side by side with a draft, won't be the same still, but probably a little closer in taste than before.

 

I drink most of my craft beer on-tap. I believe it's better because it is meant to be served that way. I see that most reviews are for bottled versions. I was wondering if anyone with sufficient experience would shed some light on this aspect of enjoyment. Personally, I think that if the bar cares enough about how their beer is handled they deliver a better quality product.

 

Draft all the way

 

Tap beer is usually fresher. That is great when it comes to American IPAs and Pale ales. Founders Red's Rye out of a bottle sucks cause it was always old, have it on tap WOW what a beer.

 

It's the same beer just two different containers for the same beer. Why would you think it's different? Are you talking about cask conditioned kegs?

 

The best beer list is typically better in my own home...not at a bar.

I drink IPAs more than anything else and I'd rather drink them at home because I have a harder time enjoying a beer's aroma at a bar/restaurant due to the food aromas around me, and I also know how old my bottle of IPA is. At a bar it's hard to know how old that keg is.

 

There are plenty (f beers that taste different from bottles and kegs

 

Can you elaborate on "better?"

I think the preference for draft versions can usually be attributable to something merely correlated with the serving method: freshness, carbonation level, temperature, etc. All of these attributes can be replicated in bottled versions.

 

It all depends. It's too bad the brothers only now allow you to review a beer only once, before then you could add the bottle, tap, cask versions...

Some beers I've had on tap are no different, some are better, and some were not as good as their "packaged" versions (no it wasn't because of dirty lines either...).

Too each their own...

 

I agree that a lot perceptions about items we eat/drink are things we "want to taste" or conjure in our head (see the experiments where wine drinkers rate wines they were told were expensive to be better, even though the wines weren't that expensive at all). And if it were any other BA that posted this I'd be inclined to agree that you may be onto something in this context. However, Jackhorzempa, as far as I am concerned, is an expert on craft beer and craft brewing. If he says they were vastly different then I trust that they were and that his experiment is valid (and thus, could be replicated).

 

A few extra steps in the canning/bottling process and the age of the beer. Also sometimes they force carbonate kegged beer while it's in the key which can lead to a different taste.

 

one factor which has not been mentioned so far - packaged product can have a lower FG than the kegged product. The craft brewery near me lets their canned beers ferment a little longer to avoid can explosions from excessive CO2 buildup.