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Does draft beer taste better than bottled beer?

JEDI

JEDI

Lifer
Fri specials at local bar:
$1 for 12oz domestic bottles (bud/coors/miller + light versions)
$1.50 for 16oz drafts

if you break it down by the oz, it's cheaper for the bottle.

yet the vast majority of people here are doing drafts.

I don't taste the diff, so I stick w/bottles
 
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For domestic lite beers, I doubt there is much of a difference UNLESS one is very fresh and the other is a bit older or stored improperly.
 
Why are you drinking crap beer? I understand being young and stupid but, Shirley you realize if money's the issue, there are cheaper alternatives to experience nasty hangovers?
 
Occasionally, yes.

Draft Hoegaarden is amazing.
Bottled, not so much.

The beers you mentioned are utter shit regardless of their origin.
 
I always find bottled better than draft... but it also depends how each is poured. A bad pour can fuck up a good beer.
 
I think, for consistency, bottled beer is much better. Draft as far more variables that aren't in your control (shitty pour, keg temperature, etc).
 
It doesn't matter. The bottle has co2 injected into it just like the keg does. The pour or the glass make little difference.
 
I prefer draught everything. I wouldn't say it's objectively better, but it's my preference. It's also more environmentally responsible.
 
$1 for a beer? fuck thats a good deal even if it are those ones.

i used to drink cheap ass beer. didn't think it was worth $4 for a good beer. then started drinking them and really changed my mind. I would rather get 2-3 good beers for 12 buck then get smashed on 12 shitty beers.
 
For some beers it does. Though it has more to do with texture than taste. Something to do with aerating the beer. Stouts like Guinness are best served draft.

For Bud and Coors, well for starters, if that's the only beer they've got, you're going to the wrong bar. Secondly, I don't think it makes a lick of difference with lagers.

waggy said:
$1 for a beer? fuck thats a good deal even if it are those ones.

i used to drink cheap ass beer. didn't think it was worth $4 for a good beer. then started drinking them and really changed my mind. I would rather get 2-3 good beers for 12 buck then get smashed on 12 shitty beers.
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This. Beer's expensive here (thank you Mr government for keeping me "safe" from the evils of alcohol). I can either pay $2 a can for Coors or Canadian, or pay $2.50 - $3 for like a Guinness or Lake of Bays. So of course I'm going to get the higher quality stuff. Leave the cheap swill to the college kids playing beer pong and doing keg stands.
 
88keys said:
There are some beers that taste better in cans.

Miller High Life and Yuengling in particular.
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Nonsense.

Yuengling CAN taste better out of bottles (draft is best), but the lighter bottle color tends to allow it to get skunky much too soon. And if bars are keeping them in visible light or high-UV artificial lighting, it happens early.

So, you are often correct, but it's not a rule, just a matter of circumstance.

One reason I hate Corona: almost impossible to get Corona that does not taste skunky. It's not special even when fresh, so no big loss. :\


ronniedavisk2_9 said:
Hell no, draft beer is rubbish and tastes like piss. Watered down piss.
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troll troll troll your bought...

If you are talking about draft American adjunct lager/pilsner, as if that's the only beer available on tap, then sure... it's watered down piss beer (and cheap!).
 
bbhaag said:
It doesn't matter. The bottle has co2 injected into it just like the keg does. The pour or the glass make little difference.
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Got a link that says that? It is my understanding that the C02 is from the yeast cultures, and I know for a fact C02 is not added when brewing at home.
 
You typically see far more inconsistencies with draft. Most bars don't regularly clean the lines and that can slightly adulterate a draft pour. In theory a product that is quickly consumed and kegs rotated in and out could be 'better' than one that hangs out for a longer time - which tends to happen with craft beers.

If it's worth anything, I'm an analytical chemist and occasionally talk chemistry shop with microbreweries. Several years ago I was at a talk with Professor Charlie Bamforth from UC Davis who is the brewery science guru of the world and he made a case that bottled/canned beer tends to be better than draft. That's a scientific argument (or rather the argument of a scientist); however, I suspect people have a psychological and perception that draft is always better and cans suck.
 
bbhaag said:
It doesn't matter. The bottle has co2 injected into it just like the keg does. The pour or the glass make little difference.
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The glass makes a difference, probably not so much in terms of flavor profile by glass types, but rather there are things called 'active sites' in glass that can cause too many bubbles to form, therefore creating a really foamy head in the beer. That's the real reason why many bars shoot a water rinse into the glass before the pour; the water binds with the active sites reducing effervescence from the beer.
 
Babbles said:
You typically see far more inconsistencies with draft. Most bars don't regularly clean the lines and that can slightly adulterate a draft pour. In theory a product that is quickly consumed and kegs rotated in and out could be 'better' than one that hangs out for a longer time - which tends to happen with craft beers.
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I'll agree with that, but a responsible bar backed by a brewer that takes an active interest in the freshness of the kegs that are out in the market should not have those problems. So, in the absence of human error, which is better? My impression (and yes, it's an impression) is that good draft beer is always tastier and fresher than bottled or canned. It may have something to do with the brew remaining cold in the keg, rather than being stored in hot semi trailers and warehouses until it is refrigerated at the point of sale.
 
Broheim said:
Draught > Bottle > Can.
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There are a lot of benefits to cans than there are of bottles.

natto fire said:
Got a link that says that? It is my understanding that the C02 is from the yeast cultures, and I know for a fact C02 is not added when brewing at home.
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Funny, I force-carb at home in kegs, and pretty much any brewery is going to do the same. I know for a fact that the two near me do. You can force-carb at a much faster rate than you can with bottle conditioning.
 
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