Beers better on tap than bottle

I will agree with you on traditional English styles but not everything. One of my favorite beers EVER is Oliver's Best Bitter when pulled from a cask with the beer engine the Wharf Rat imported from the UK. I would never get a keg of bitter for my kegerator because it just wouldn't be as tasty colder and on CO2.

 

How do you know the keg is fresh? I know many bars that have had kegs sitting for some period of time waiting to be tapped. I have also seen many order older kegs on sale. Often, kegs have been sitting around at the distributor's warehouse. Keg =/= fresh.

 

I find that the German lagers, and the Helles in particular, are much more flavorful
on tap.

 

The craft bars in my local area that I go to regularly have a history or proper cleaning, and they use BeerMenus to show when they tap their kegs. I see that their tap rotation has a frequency that would tell me they aren't sitting on kegs. And the biggest point; I haven't been burned with a beer that tasted stale at these places.

When I travel I use the BA forums to get advice on places with a good rep. The locals know better than me, and so far its worked out.

I can't do quite the same with bottles. I don't know when these places get the next delivery.

 

I strongly suggest that you request a taste (a small pour) before committing to a pint; let your plate provide the answer to "How do you know the keg is fresh".

An alternative solution is to ask the bartender to look at the keg's tap label and tell you the packaged date.

Cheers!

P.S. An example of a keg label:

 

I'm quite aware of how this works. I'm simply pointing out keg beer is not always fresh. I have also seen many people who claim they can tell the difference between a two and four week old IPA drink the same beer from a keg that is three months old without complaint.

I think many people think the beer tastes fresher because they don't know the age.

 

The bar just tapping the keg doesn't mean it wasn't sitting in some combination of the cooler and the distributor's warehouse for two months. Just as an example, the kegs of Nugget Nectar you mentioned were probably filled at the same time as the bottles.

 

Agreed!

Cheers!

 

DFH 90 Min. World Class DIPA on tap, average out of bottle and whole different flavor profile. Numerous experiences with that one, and not sure why this is.

 

I prefer stouts, porters, most English stuff, German Lagers, on tap if the lines are clean and the kegs are not antique. I find I prefer many of the Belgian styles, especially Abbey and Trappist styles from the bottle.