Tap (Draft) vs. Bottled Beer

On tap at the brewery...does it get any fresher than that? Assuming high turnover of the kegs.

 

They should be same batch...have you tried a bottle vs on tap at the brewery, assuming, as I don't know, if the bottle is an option?

 

Hmm i like Alpha king from the bottle better than on tap IMO

 

You've had it on tap? Bottles only for me and then by trade only.

 

Had Pabst in the bottle and on tap, I did notice that the hop presence really stood out on draft.

 

Depending on how the brewery operates, you may be getting beer that's never been in a keg. A lot brewpub/brewery tasting rooms pour from serving tanks. If you've ever had beer from a brite tank, you can taste the difference after the same beer has been kegged. I don't know why this is, maybe something to do with size?

 

I've had a few Dogfish Head brews that are so much better on drought than the same from a bottle.
120 Min. on tap tastes like an IPA while the same from the bottle is more like a barley wine.

 

I remember reading something about Sierra Nevada talking about how beers will actually lose some aroma through the cap during transport. I have certainly had beers that are different between draft/bottle/can. Founders Backwoods Bastard is a good example, really boozy out of the bottle but less boozy and actually kinda chocolate flavors going on on draft. On the other hand, Deviant Dale's out of the can tastes a little hoppier to me than the draft does.

 

It's because they don't use Vortex bottle.

 

I have never had a beer that was better bottled than on tap.

 

Have you ever had anything bottle conditioned?

I've had Roddenbach Grand Cru on tap and bottled. On tap it was a little less carbonated and a bit more tart. In the bottle it was obviously sweeter and just differeent.

Also I've had JP Bam Biere on tap and in the bottle too. They are also noticeably different. Again its a bit sweeter in the bottle. On tap it doesn't have the cidery chanpagny flavor to it as much.

Its not a huge difference but its definitely a noticeable difference in taste.

also I wouldn't consider one better then the other, they were both amazing either way..just different

 

In my past, I had always been under the impression that draught beer was better than bottled beer. In a few recent instances with bad draught beer, I'm starting to feel otherwise. My example is with one of my favorite "go to" beers; Oskar Blues: Dale's Pale Ale. Drinking this out of the can or poured into a glass is always magical. Recently, on vacation, I saw it on tap at a beer and I was ecstatic to try it on tap. I had never seen it at a bar before. After tasting it on tap, I would've much rather have drank it from the can. It lacked all the aroma and flavor I was used to. If it wasn't for the fact I saw them pour it into the glass for me, I wouldn't have believed it was the right beer.

In another instance, I went to a local craft beer bar that has 40 different beers on tap. I tried a sampler of 5 different beers of my choosing and I was only able to stomach one or two of them. All were IPAs or stouts, my two favorite styles. None of them seemed to have the proper character for the style of beer. I came back here to BA and saw that they all had very good reviews. At that point, I started wondering about draught beer.

Is draught beer only better for cheap beers to make them more drinkable? Are craft beers better out of the bottle or can?

 

Too many variables to answer wisely. For me, generally, draught has been a more enjoyable experience, but also has to do with the fact that I'm sitting at a bar.

 

It just totally depends on the beer. I think Hopslam is boozy out of the bottle but can be great on draft. On the otherhand I think Gumballhead just doesn't have nearly as aromatic of a nose on draft compared to the bottle.

 

Dirty tap lines, old kegs, wrong serving temp, frozen glasses, shaker pints, are all variables that can make beer worse out of the tap at bars.

You can avoid all of those at home.

 

A bar will have natural variability in how they clean, serve, etc. their draft beers. Drinking bottles and/or cans straight from the brewery will most likely present the beer in the way it was intended (not counting beer directly from the brewery's tap room for example).

 

A keg is just a glorified bottle with the added complication of external gas pressure plus lines and taps which need regular cleaning.
If by draught we mean cask then the difference is profound.I am prepared to pay a lot more for it over the bottled variety as there are layers of complexity and depth of flavours simply missing in bottle or keg.The caveat is that it has to be done well.