Tap (Draft) vs. Bottled Beer

marquis- by and large, over here in the states keg beer is different from bottled. It not as great a difference as between cask and bottle, but the keg beer does (all things being equal) taste fresher and more vibrant. American bottled (or canned) 'craft' beer is not pasteurized (for the most part), but sterile filtered (.5 micron) for shelf life. Keg beer is usually just given a coarser filtration (around 5 microns) and must be kept refrigerated- so, at least over here, it is not a glorified bottle. The difference can easily be undone by poor turnover rates and cleanliness, as has been mentioned, but there is one.

 

IMHO, the best way to determine the difference, if any, is a side-by-side blind test. But even this has variables, such as serving temperature and the way the beer was handled from the brewery to the consumer.

 

Another aspect to consider is the age of the beer. There seems to be an ‘inclination’ that a kegged beer will be fresher. A BA who worked at a bottle shop which included draft beer posted in a past thread that often the kegged beer that they received was older than the bottled products. I was a bit shocked to read that since I always assumed that kegged beer would be fresher. I know approach draft beer with a ‘jaundiced eye’.

Cheers!

 

also some brewers do brew the beer slightly differently for the versions. AKA SN pale ale. different beer from can/bottle to draft. Some beers are totally different due to 2nd fermentation. or the lack of it.

I dislike Duvel on draft, love it on bottle. I could give many other examples. cask ale is a different animal all together. I notice nitrogen changes beer taste some to me personally YMMV. I had Brooklyn RIS on draft and to me it was a totally different beer than the bottle.

bottom line find a beer you like at a place you like if you go out. or pay more for bottles. or just stay home, lol.

I do enjoy blue moon on draft better than bottle. weird.

 

Sometimes I don't like draught because a lot of bars keep all their beers in the same cooler, and thus everything is the same temperature. Granted, I appreciate that having separate coolers for different types of beer might be impractical unless your bar is wholly devoted to it, but a stout should not be served at the same cold temp as a pilsener.

 

That's not really a fair comparison as they are two distinctly different beers. The kegged Duvel (aka Duvel Green) is only 6.8% vs 8.5% for the bottles, and it doesn't undergo secondary fermentation. There is no such thing as "regular" Duvel in kegs, at least not in America.

 

Sometimes you just get a bad beer for whatever reason.
I just had a bottle of 60 minute at a bar for lunch, man it was old or something. No hop aroma at all, just bitter.
I've had Sam Adams summer ale out of draught and thought I hated that beer. I had a bottle of it later and loved it. When I go to normal restaurant I don't expect much from their beer.

Unless the bar is all about good beer there's always a risk of a poor brew, that's why I'm glad craft bars/taprooms are growing in number. =)

 

Sadly, there are numerous bars and restaurants that don't clean their lines as often as they should...

 

I have the exact opposite experience when drinking Dale's Pale Ale on tap. It's one of my go to beers at home that I always enjoy from the can to glass. When I have it at the local Mellow Mushroom on tap it's even better, one of my favorite beers on tap when I'm having more than just a couple.

 

It is one beer served in two different ways, how is it not fair? Obviously they are different or he would like them the same. If the draft version is that much worse, than it is the breweries fault for putting out a product in that form and they deserve negative feedback.

 

One beer that is fantastic on draft is Sculpin, whereas in the bottles, it just does not seem to be quite as good...

Maybe has to do with the freshness of a keg versus bottles that might be sitting around on the shelves for a while?

 

I've had some bad experiences with old bottles at bars, so I try to stick to draught because I assume it is generally fresher unless the bar has a very large tap list.

There are also beers that are better on draught for whatever reason. GL Lake Erie Monster comes to mind.

 

What makes SNPA a different beer on draught, Bottle conditioning? References?

 

It's always been that way (Michael Jackson made the distinction in his books way back when: bottle 5.5%, draught 5%), though I never knew exactly why until recently when Bill Manley (sierranevadabill) clarified it on the boards here. Essentially, there were some municipalities where they wanted to sell their beer that had a 5% restriction at the time, so they kept the draught at 5% to accomodate that. Eventually, they liked the difference so much that they kept it that way even though there is no more need for it.

 

Though the ingredients are the same, it's not the same beer. The bottle fermentation of Duvel adds complexity and flavor, and is better in my opinion, but that's not achievable in an ordinary keg. The Duvel Single is more sessionable. Duvel markets them as separate beers, and they are. I wouldn't say the Single deserves _negative_ feedback, but it's perfectly reasonable to score it lower than Duvel. (As Duvel is close to a perfect beer, the Single certainly ought to be scored lower.)

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/222/695
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/222/45379

 

I picked up a growler of bourbon county last week and thought it was much better then the bottles. The b.a. I drank it with seemed to agree. Trust me, I love it out of the bottle too, but it was much better on draft.

 

I recently had a discussion with my friend when we were at a local Italian restaurant yesterday. We both ordered a Peroni, but he ordered a Peroni bottle, and I opted for the draught. The draught pint and bottle cost the same - $4.75.

I asked him "Why a bottle? You get an extra 4oz with draught." He replied that he's just "a bottle man" and orders all beers in bottles when available, regardless of if it's a coors light or Bell's Two-Hearted. He would offer no other explanation, no reason at all why he prefers bottles.

Curiosity is getting the best of me, so I wanted to ask all of you: Any of you out there just plain prefer bottles over draught? Any particular reason why?

 

I generally prefer draught beer because it's usually cheaper at the bars I go to per ounce than the same beer would be had it come from a bottle. If it were reversed, I'm sure my preference would be reversed also

 

Don't guess this applies to Peroni, but there is something to be said for bottle aging with Belgians and some other strong ales. That being said, if I can get the bottled version at the store, I would pretty much always go with draught when out. Just part of the experience of being at the bar.

 

In my experience, it can often have to do with QC. I know that when I order a bottle that I don't have to worry about dirty draft lines, the carb level being off, of any other number of factors I can't control. Order a bottle and you can see how clean the glass is before you pour.

With that said, the places I tend to go to for draft beer are sticklers for doing it correctly, so it's not much a worry.

If his reasons aren't anything like those, then I don't know why he prefers bottles, really.