Draft beer is also called draught beer. Draft beer does not get you drunk faster because its alcohol content is the same as bottled beer.
Beer was originally served directly from a barrel to a customer before Joseph Bramah patented the beer engine in 1785. The Old English dragan (“carry; pull”) developed into a series of related words like drag, draught, and draw. When Bramah’s beer pumps became well-known, the use of the concept draught to refer to the acts of serving or drinking beer was well established and was easily referred to as beer served through the hand pumps. Over time, the word came to be associated with only that kind of beer. The normal spelling is “draught”in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand and is referred to as “draft”in North America, although you can spell it either way.
Canned draught is a beer that is served from a pressurized container featuring a widget. Brewers call draft beers pressurized with a partial nitrogen gas blend a smooth flow called cream flow, or smooth or nitro keg.
Draft beer started being served from pressurized containers during the 20th century. To protect traditional unpressurized beer and brewing methods, the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) was founded in Britain in 1971. This group established the term real ale to differentiate between a beer served from the cask and a beer under pressure. Since then, the term real ale has been expanded to include bottle-conditioned beer.
You should store your draft beer and serve it at a cellar temperature of 12 degrees Celsius or 54 degrees Fahrenheit. As soon as you open the cask of your draft beer, ensure you consume it within three days. Keg beer is usually given additional cooling using a flash cooler before it is served; it will help keep the beer chill between 3 to 8 degrees Celsius or 37 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit.
In Japan, the word “draft”is referred to canned or bottled beer which means that the beer is not pasteurized, although it may be filtered. This gives it a fresher taste but a short shelf-life than a normal packaged beer.
The Alcohol By Volume (ABV) of draft beer and bottled beer is the same. So, draft beer does not get you drunk faster. It is the fermentation process and the ingredients that are used in making the beer that determines how much alcohol content a beer has.
Have you consumed a draft beer before? Do you know that it has a unique taste? You must have heard that it tastes better than bottled or canned beer. Below are some of the reasons why it tastes better.
1. It is not pasteurized
Pasteurization is when liquid like beer or beverage is heated to a high temperature to kill germs. Most brewers do carry out pasteurization for their bottled beers because of the long period that they are stored before consumption. Draft beer is usually refrigerated until the time it is served.
2. It is fresher
Draft beer is fresher because it doesn’t stay for long after it is made like bottled beer. This is why many people prefer draft beer to bottled beer.
3. Less prone to oxidization
When you expose your beer to air, it results in oxidation. Generally, oxidation negatively affects the flavor of alcohol. The hops, carbohydrates, and alcohol in beer are all highly prone to oxidation. Exposure to oxygen increases for bottled beer because its separated into different containers before its served. Draft beer is usually stored in very large kegs with pressurized tops that don’t allow air to penetrate it; thus, it experiences less oxidation.
4. No light exposure
Some beers are packaged in glass bottles that allow light to affect it, and light reacts with the hops in beer and makes it very bitter than it normally should be. Beers that are packaged in light or clear colored glass skunk faster than those in brown bottles. The good thing about draft beer is that you can control the flavor until you serve it. With this, you don’t have to bother about light exposure.
If you want to enjoy the great flavor of your draft beer, make sure you maintain good hygiene when brewing it, so you don’t have to deal with irrelevant microorganisms that will affect the flavor of your beer negatively.
If you want to enjoy your draft beer, it will be good you know the right temperature and pressure to store it so you can get the best quality and flavor from it.
Below are some things you should consider when you purchase and store your draft beer.
1. Temperature
If you don’t store your draft beer at the required temperature, it will affect the taste. Since the beer in your keg most times does not get pasteurized, it will be good you keep it cold.
From the moment you get it from the distributor until its empty, its important to maintain the proper temperature, or you will sacrifice the quality of the beer. If the temperature of your draft high, you will see too much foam in it because of carbon dioxide, which will affect the flavor. Also, if your draft beer is too cold, it will retain the carbonation this giving your beer a bland taste.
The required temperature for storing your draft beer is 38 degrees Fahrenheit, especially for ales. Don’t store it above that tent, but you can keep it below that temperature. If you have a good kegerator, it will help you store it properly. Always store your draft there at the required temperature from the moment you buy it until you finish consuming it.
2. Pressure
It would be best to store your draft beer at very high or too low pressure because you will end up spoiling the taste. Always use the required pressure instructed by the distributor of the brand of draft beer you bought because the pressure is different between various brands. But for American ales and lagers, the pressure should be between 10 to 12 PSI.
3. Let your draft beer settle before tapping
When you get your draft beer, avoid shaking it. Handle it gently. Allow it to settle for some hours before you tap it.
Conclusion
Ensure you store your draft beer very well so you can enjoy drinking it with its flavors still intact.