Beer on tap

[aggle-rithm]

My wife and I had a conversation over lunch yesterday when I mentioned that a particular beer I liked tasted better on tap than in bottles bought in the store. She said that she would expect the opposite to be true...since beer on tap is stored in aluminum, the beer should take on a metallic taste, while bottled beer would taste more pure because it's stored in glass.

She went on to theorize that perhaps the difference in taste is purely psychological...beer on tap is supposed to taste better, so it does.

I don't think this is true, but I can't think of any particular reason why beer on tap would taste better. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[aggle-rithm]

Okay...perhaps I should do some investigoogling before I start these threads. It seems that bottled beer is pasteurized, while draft beer is not. More than likely, some of the taste is lost to the pasteurization process.

 

[Giraffe107]

Anecdotally, I prefer beers on tap to beers in cans or bottles. Perhaps it also has something to do with the tap being very, very cold, while my fridge is only 4C.

 

[genesplicer]

It depends on the beer, but generally a person with a good palate can tell the difference between can, bottle and tap in a blind test. It may also have to do with freshness. My guess is tap beer is generally a bit fresher than bottle or can. That and glass is less reactive than metal.

Of course, beer on tap is often stored in metal... Hmmmm. There may be a surface to volume thing working there, as well. Are the insides of kegs coated?

 

[Hokulele]

There is also an issue with whether your beer is the first out of the keg, somewhere in the middle, or at the end of the keg.

End of keg is often the worst of the lot.

 

[Jeff Corey]

There is also an issue with whether your beer is the first out of the keg, somewhere in the middle, or at the end of the keg.

End of keg is often the worst of the lot.

Especially if it's Bass Ale in an Irish Bar. Go for the Smiddick's (Smithwick's).

 

[Nick Bogaerts]

My wife and I had a conversation over lunch yesterday when I mentioned that a particular beer I liked tasted better on tap than in bottles bought in the store. She said that she would expect the opposite to be true...since beer on tap is stored in aluminum, the beer should take on a metallic taste, while bottled beer would taste more pure because it's stored in glass.

Kegs are usually filtered and pasteurised, casks not. The former you find on a tap, the latter have hand pumps. I wouldn't say cask ales are necessarily better, (casks don't keep as well), but they're often more interesting beers.

Bottle conditioning depends entirely on the beer. Leading brands will be pasteurised, though there are many live beers out there which undergo a secondary fermentation in the bottle. A lot of Belgian beers, the Gueuzes and Lambics, fall in this category, as well as a good number of traditional ales and other craft beers. They're usually recognisable by the yeast deposit at the bottom of the bottle.

Incidentally Pasteur himself was quite the beer enthusiast, and certainly didn't pasteurise his. There's now a lovely little craft brewer on his lands in Lons-le-Saunier, called La Rouget de Lisle, well worth checking out if you ever find yourself in those parts.

 

[Skeptical Greg]

There is also an issue with whether your beer is the first out of the keg, somewhere in the middle, or at the end of the keg.

End of keg is often the worst of the lot.

If it's a decent bar, there shouldn't be that much of a lag between the top and the bottom .

If it's something like Coors or Budweiser it shouldn't make much difference, one way or the other...

 

[Hokulele]

If it's something like Coors or Budweiser it shouldn't make much difference, one way or the other...

This thread is about beer, not bilgewater.

 

[LordoftheLeftHand]

I don't know much about beer. Does it have anything to do with the carbonation? Or maybe "freshness" how long is the beer in the bottle before you drink it vs. the tap? Anyone know?

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Aluminum is pretty inert when it comes to leaching into a product stored in it. That's why it lasts so well.

 

[roger]

It depends on the beer, but generally a person with a good palate can tell the difference between can, bottle and tap in a blind test. It may also have to do with freshness. My guess is tap beer is generally a bit fresher than bottle or can. That and glass is less reactive than metal.

Err, evidence? Beer cans are now coated internally with an inert plastic. The beer never touches the aluminum. Blind taste tests show people are utterly incapable of telling the difference between can and bottle.

 

[Doc Daneeka]

This requires serious investigation. Skeptic team: to the pub!

 

[Unlike a Bull]

Allow me to chime in, as a homebrewer. If the glass is clear, blue, green ... pretty much anything other than brown then UV light gets through and breaks down the alpha acids from the hops. This breakdown of alpha acids results in "skunking" of the beer. Try heineken (sp) out of a keg and out of a bottle, the flavors are very different.

 

[MikeSun5]

What about the 5-liter Beer Sphere? Normally known as the "beer ball" or "party ball." Anyone ever try one of those?

No aluminum there - that's all plastic. I've only seen them sold in the southern US, though...

Honestly, I enjoy beer as long as it's cold. Beer tasting better out of the keg is probably just in my head. Or maybe the head is the trick... everyone loves head.

Or maybe "freshness" how long is the beer in the bottle before you drink it vs. the tap? Anyone know?

I'm no expert, but I don't think sitting in a bottle takes away from freshness. I drank a Budweiser back when they had that "fresh beer" promotion. It was a silly promotion - they guaranteed the beer was bottled the same day that you purchased it. Guess what? It still tasted like crap beer.

Gimme a cold Warsteiner or Smithwicks on tap or in a bottle and I'm good (well, I'm happy... I'd be "good" after like 7 more ).

 

[lionking]

Beer is generally better out of a tap, but I have never had a bad beer out of a can or bottle, but quite a few out of a tap, probably due to contaminated lines.

 

[Giraffe107]

Beer is generally better out of a tap, but I have never had a bad beer out of a can or bottle

I have. It was more the fault of the beer though, and not the vessel.

 

[lionking]

I have. It was more the fault of the beer though, and not the vessel.

I should have been more specific. West End and Budweiser could never taste good.

 

[Lothian]

Honestly, I enjoy beer as long as it's cold.

I think with a lot of American beers that is the only way I could drink them. My preference is for a real ale, room temperature from the barrel.

Real ale beer in bottles does not taste the same. It might be psychological thing. At home I tend to drink lager out of a can. Normally stella. I can't remember the last time I drank a lager in a pub. Must be over 10 years.

 

[MikeSun5]

My preference is for a real ale, room temperature from the barrel.

Blasphemer! Having the beer ice cold does kill the taste (which is why lots of Americans love an "ice cold Bud" ), but they all should be cold - or at least chilled. We're not exactly talking wine, here... Warm beer? Ugh. Why not just chew up a mouthful of yeast and hops?

In honor of this thread (and Lothian's post), I just stuck one of those big Heineken keg-cans in the freezer for a few minutes before I kill that bad boy.