Drinking a glass of draft beer in a brewery and pouring it directly from the bottle results in different tastes.
Beer is one of the oldest, most popular and widely consumed drinks around the world. Be it the bottled or the draft beer, it’s a drink which unites people and beer lovers will definitely agree with us on that.
But have you ever realised that drinking a glass of draft beer tastes so much different from a bottled one?
Ever thought of why this change in taste while they both are made of the same grain and flavours?
Well, this article will surely take you through some of the pointers that help in understanding the big difference between the two and why they taste so much different from each other.
The role of temperature & pressure
Most of the draft beers are kept at a consistent pressure and temperature, which helps in retaining the original flavour and taste of the drink. While the bottled beer is often kept in the refrigerator or even on the shelf, which tones down the flavour notes of the drink. However, what is surprising is that the draft beer ingredients are more prone to oxidation when tapped and still retain the flavours. The reason behind this is that draft beer sells faster than one can even imagine and thus there are fewer chances of oxidation. The bottled beer sits on a shelf for so many days and has unfortunate access to sunlight that changes the whole game.
The role of ‘hops’
Hops play an important role when it comes to the flavour, aroma and even the bitterness of a beer. Many of you might not be knowing it, but when beer is exposed to light it is oxidized which means the hops are killed in the process which makes it bitter in taste. This is the only reason why most bottled beer tastes bitter than draft beer. On the other hand, due to the large number of hops present in draft beer, it has a fresh taste to it which makes it tastier than bottled beer.
The carbonation factor
Many of you might not know this fact but those selling draft beer, pours a larger quantity than the bottled beer and it does impacts the taste of this popular drink a lot. How? Let us understand! Draft beer is regularly poured from kegs in big glasses and comes in contact with air, which makes the fizz go away as the carbon dioxide is evaporated from it. It is for this reason that draft beer tastes smoother than bottled beer. On the other hand, bottled beer has more carbon dioxide and thus more fizz, this is why people tend to drink more draft beer than bottled beer.
