Tap (Draft) vs. Bottled Beer

You contradict yourself here. The fresh hoppiness of an IPA or DIPA definitely dwindles with age for most beers. If you are saying a keg is fresher, than there lies your answer. Try a fresh can of Heady or whatever good DIPA you can get your hands on, then compare it to one sitting around a few months (if you really want to waste a great ale). There's a considerable difference. Of course if you are a fan of the malts, the opposite usually holds true, but I don't know many people buying IPAs or DIPAs because they like malt bombs.

 

I completely agree, but at least by me, I will never come across old Sculpin on tap here. The few places I get it go through it like nothing. Same with Pliny when I get it on tap at some Philly bars, goes about as fast as it comes. Maybe that's different out west.

 

I live in the 'burbs of Philly. I wish that I could state that I have never encountered an abused keg of Sculpin/Pliny the Elder but I can't.

You have been much more fortunate than me.

Cheers to you!

 

Only Pliney I've had was a bunch of times at Monks and can't recall the other places name, always fresh and runs out quick. Sculpin I've only had on tap at a few local places by me and it runs out quickly so it's always fresh. The death penalty should be involved with abused Pliney!

 

The fundamental issue is not how long the keg lasts once tapped but what condition is the keg in prior to being tapped.

I attended a beer event at Capone's (Norristown, PA) where they had Pliny the Elder on tap. That beer was 'off' (i.e., it suffered from hop fade). I know the beer guy there very well (Matt Capone; he is the ultimate Beer Advocate!). I asked him if he 'sat' on this keg so that it was available for the event. He responded: "No, I just got the keg this week". I informed him of my disappointment in the hop fade to which he shook his head and replied "I know what you mean". That keg (somehow) was abused prior to Matt receiving it. Did the Wholesale Distributor 'sit' on this keg? Did the Wholesale Distributor not store this keg refrigerated? Did the keg get transported in a non-refrigerated manner? Did the refrigeration unit of the truck/train car break down during transport? Did the ... Who knows?

Cheers!

 

Since no one has mentioned it yet, I guess I will. Contract brewing. My favorite (local) example is Lancaster Brewing Company. On tap, the beers are fairly decent. In bottles, not so much. If my understanding is correct, they keg their own beer, but contract out their bottled offerings to Lion. I know this happens with other smaller breweries that are trying to expand distribution, while not at a point to expand their own brewing capacity.
Personally, I prefer most beers on tap; unless it's something that needs to settle out (too boozy, overly-hoppy stout, etc)

 

Yep, the packaged Lancaster Brewing beers are produced at the Lion Brewing. I personally will only drink Lancaster beer on Tap.

Cheers!

 

Most Belgian ales are better from the bottle in my experience.

 

I'm pretty sure there's only one distributor in the Philly area. At least my buddy who lives there told me so. I don't think they'd sit on a keg of Pliny or let it warm. I think what you experienced is not the norm for our area. Anything can go wrong like you mention, but those Pliny kegs are the only ones in the east coast so I'd think they'd do their best to keep them optimum. Sticking to the topic, I've had Pliny recently on tap in Cali and Philly and from the bottle as well. There was no comparison for me, tap was way fresher.

 

I think my most drastic would be DirtWolf. I had a hard on waiting for its release. In a bottle, I think it's mediocre at best. on draft, I think it's excellent.

 

I had a draft Pliny the Elder at Teresa's Next Door (Wayne, PA) which had ZERO hop aroma; and I mean ZERO!

It happens more than your personal experiences indiicate.

Cheers!

P.S. The Wholesale Distributor for RR in Philly (and surrounding counties) is Origlio (Northeast Philly). I have no knowledge of their keg handling process but as I indicated above, a keg can get abused in transport.

 

Any of the all dry hop beers matter most. Maine Beer is the best example. I see their beers draft I'd drag my junk through rose bushes to get some. Bottles I walk on by. Not because the bottles aren't good, they are, except when compared to themselves on draft.

 

I've noticed I prefer Dirtwolf in bottles.

 

I had a bottle of awhile back and it was pretty damn fine. Could only imagine what a tap experience might have been like.

 

Dam that sucks. Hope your next plinys better!

 

I have had Pliny the Elder many times on draft (20+ times). The majority of the time the beer is in very good shape.

Unfortunately my experiences with draft Scuplin have been the opposite. A few (2-3) times I have experienced excellent Sculpin but the majority of the time (6-7) the Sculpin has just been OK.

My strategy now is to request a taste from the bartender for either Sculpin or Pliny the Elder prior to purchasing a pint.

Cheers!

 

Just felt like I needed to reiterate... FBS is way better on draft vs the bottle pretty much every time I've tried it

It picks up so much more toffee and creamy, bourbon-y notes, imo

 

In the absolute ideal world, I would say draft.


In the real world, there are a lot of factors that make it more complicated. Dirty lines, kegs sitting for months at the distributor or retailer, dirty glasses at the pub, etc. make it hard to clearly say draft. Bottles could have been exposed to a lot of heat, light, have no expiration date or have the date rubbed off like I see so much here in AZ.

 

I will second that draft is the best as long as conditions are perfect, especially in the case of hoppy beers. Pliny was good out of the bottle, still worthy of searching out and trading for, but on tap (at Russian River), it was a borderline religious experience.

I'm really partial to anything cask, too. I think the Brits have been onto something forever. Even if many American options on cask aren't exactly "Real Ale," they still taste better than their bottle and draft counterparts with the added benefit of being served not super chilled like many kegs. Nitro is good, but it's a pretty poor imitation as compared to genuine cask (and especially Real Ale).

I feel like a broken record singing the praises of OEC Brewing on here constantly, but they serve all their beers (kegs not cask unless otherwise specified) at the ideal serving temperature dependent on the beer, and that's something I'd really like to see more of, particularly in my area.

 

I avoid establishments that have large, very good to excellent, selections of drafts for the reasons stated above ^ by yemenmocha.
When you can find a local brewer that makes good solid beer on the premises, always serves it fresh, and keeps everything (draft equipment) in top notch order you have a good thing.