Cans v. Bottles

This^. Plus I agree with you on the Relaxed environment versus in a pub. I can't pick up nuances on the aroma while at a busy pub. Too much noise pollution and cologne fumes mess up my sense of smell and patience.

 

Well, technically cask is tap beer, correct? You need to tap it with a faucet to get it out .

Assuming the lines are clean, etc. I much prefer tap over bottle in most situations. Certain bottle conditioned beers no, but in most beers tap is better.

 

Improve , perhaps. To turn bad beer into good is another matter,it can of course turn good beer into bad if it's not drunk up quickly enough

 

Honestly... I rarely see a difference between can/bottle and tap. In most of my experiences I notice when the tap version is worse, do to dirty tap lines or kegs that have been sitting around for too long.

 

Haha - technically maybe. I'm not sure. But rightly or wrongly to me if someone says "tap", I'm thinking keg

 

The only beer I noticed a marked difference between keg and bottle was Lagunitas Sucks. I was really looking forward to having it on draft for the first time, but when I finally was able to try it, I felt that it fell far short of the bottled offering. The flavor was there, but it just lacked the snap that I was used to.

 

Belgians are ALWAYS better in the bottle. Draft does something to the yeast and flavors. Everything else is hit or miss.

 

I've had double jack on tap that must have been 6 or 10 months old.

That is when I stopped using the term "its always better on tap"

Beer is best fresh generally and the easiest way to get it fresh is to either go to the source or buy from a company that cares enough to inform the customer what they are opening.

 

I have always preferred tap over can/bottle. I just think it has a better taste, fresher usually. That being said, if it's a somewhat questionable bar or restaurant, I stick with a bottle or can. This way if they haven't cleaned their system properly or don't know what they are doing, I won't have to taste it.

 

I generally prefer Belgians and Higher ABV stouts/barleywines and anything barrel aged in bottles.

IPAs/IIPAs//PA/Lagers/Porters/Sweet Stouts/etc (almost everything else) on tap.

Though there are exceptions. Really comes down to me judging on a beer to beer basis.

But I always want Old Raspy on Nitro.

 

Fresh on tap is my preferred, and to eliminate the issues with clean lines, etc that can spoil a really good pour at a bar, I have kegs at home. I try to keep two styles on tap, and my bottle buying habits are 'market research' for what the next kegs will be. At least that's how I explain it to my wife.

 

Only been lucky to have tried a few, about a dozen I think, of high ABV beers that have been and should be aged on tap. 4-7 year old stouts mostly, but a Pannepot Reserva that had some years on it was particularly memorable. So by default, those Belgians and higher ABV stouts/barleywines need to come from bottles although I would prefer it aged in a keg. Always like a fresh IPA on draft, just got a keg of Deschutes Fresh Hop for my home that was kegged 5 days ago - yum!

 

We have talked about this issue at my local Dogfish Head Alehouse, and one thing I recall was Beers in Bottles continue to change, sometimes for the better ( many beer age very well...like Dogfish 120) and sometimes not. Also the very addition of CO2 to propel the beer out of the kegs can affect the taste, and aroma. So I think it depends.... currently I like the Punkin in Bottles over tap, while I like the 60 min on tap over bottle....

 

I agree that beer is best at its source--where it's coming straight from the tanks in into your glass. The larger the quantity of the source, there more it's like the brewer intended and the more uniform it is.

When I first started drinking good beer, I used to assume beer would always be better on draft as compared to bottle, but, as other advocates have stated, there are a lot of external touch points along the way that influence the beer. I frequent places that are dedicated to craft beer, so I default to draft, but if I venture into suspect places, I'll ask for a bottle (and then check the date).

 

The only thing I can add is that when I'm out and it's available, I'm always going to have beer on tap since I can't have it that way at home. But even before craft beer came along, I never understood how someone could go out to a bar that has Bud Lite on tap, order a bottle of it and pay 3x what it could be bought for in a store. I understand that Bud Lite is what you like, but crap, you can drink it from a bottle at home for 1/3 the price!!!

 

Some brews are better, some are worse, and some are the same personally in how they are served. That's my two cents.

I kind of miss this one feature from the website, but I can understand why they did it for review purposes.

 

This year I hated Pumking in the bottle but on tap it tasted great. Small sample size but did anyone else have the same experience?

 

Keg and bottle are largely the same. Cask is, when done right, much better than bottle, but does run the risk of being worse occasionally.

 

Yeah, the tapped beer at many non-craft centric pubs is always a risk. Most of the time bottles are better flavored when going to a chain restaurant, most sports bar or any bar where billards, darts and taxidermy on walls are more of the focal point.

 

Funny enough, I had the exact opposite experience this year. On tap was an overly-spiced kick in the mouth. I'm guessing I was at the end of the keg or something.

But overall, some are better in bottle and others on tap. But even if better from a bottle, I get excited to find some rarities on tap.