Lager is a beer that is produced or prepared at a low temperature. Lager beers come in various colors like amber, dark or pale. Of all the different kinds of lager beers globally, the pale lager is more popular and consumed by many people. A distinguishing feature of the lager beer is the Saccharomyces pastorianus, a “bottom-fermenting” yeast that ferments at relatively cold temperatures. Before the 19th century, lagerbier (de) was a German word that was used to describe any cool-conditioned beer and bottom-fermented. But currently, in Germany, it means beers in Southern Germany which are Dunkel (dark) and Helles (pale). Before refrigeration started existing before the 19th century, German brewers usually dig cellars for lagering and fill them with ice from closeby lakes and rivers, which helps cool the beer when summer comes. They also preserve cellars from the heat of summer by planting chestnut trees. As soon as refrigeration got invented, brewing lager beer throughout the year became possible.
Brewers use cool fermentation to produce lager beer, and after that, the maturation process also undergoes cold storage. Saccharomyces pastorianus is the yeast that is used for lager brewing. It is pretty related to Saccharomyces cerevisiae which is a yeast that is used for warm fermented ales. Some brewers use the lager yeast in a friendly fermentation process like the American steam beer. The
German Altbier and Kölsch are brewed using the Saccharomyces cerevisiae top-fermenting yeast at a warm temperature, but with a cold-storage finishing stage, and classified as obergäriges lagerbier (top-fermented lager beer).
Lager beers are produced worldwide, and there are different colors, flavors, compositions, and alcohol content.
The extent of the color of lager beers cokes from the particular grain bill used in the beers. While pale lagers use unroasted barley and other grains like rice or corn to lighten the color and give it a crisp, bright finish to the flavor, homebrewers who produce darker lagers use roasted grains and malts to provide it with a more roasted, quite burnt, flavor profile.
The top three more prominent brands for sales in the UK pubs are Fosters, Carlsberg, and Carling.
Draught beer is a beer that is served from a cask or keg instead of a can or bottle. For a draught beer that is served from a pressurized keg, it is called a keg beer.
The significant difference between lager and draught beer is that draught beer is brewed traditionally. It ferments naturally in a cask, and it is directly consumed unpasteurized from a keg or cask instead of a can or bottle. Lager beer comes from a German word that means to store. Lager beer is unlike draught beer that is pasteurized and stored for a very long time in a cask before it will eventually get bottled.
There is a kind of draught beer called the canned draught served from a pressurized container featuring a widget. Brewers refer to draught beers pressurized with a partial nitrogen gas blend, a smooth flow called smooth, nitro keg, or cream flow.
Draught beers began to get served from pressurized containers in the early 20th century. Cask beer has a stipulated temperature you should be stored with. They should be stored and served at a cellar temperature of 12 degrees Celsius or 54 degrees Fahrenheit. The rule is that immediately you open your cask, you should consume the beer in it within three days.
“Draught” and “draft” words have been used as marketing concepts that are used to describe bottled or canned beers, which means that they taste and also appear like beers served from a cask or keg. Many commercial brewers use these terms and marketing tools, but it is not correct to refer to any beer that is not served from a barrel or cask, “draught.” In Japan, the concept “draft” applies to canned or bottled beer, and it shows that it is not pasteurized, although it may be filtered and gives it a fresh taste but a shorter shelf-life than most conventional packaged beers.
In the brewing industry, a cask is different from a keg. A cask has a tap hole close to the edge of the top and a spile hole on the side used for conditioning the unfiltered and unpasteurized beer. For a keg, you will see a single opening in the center of the tip to which a flow pipe is attached to. Typically, kegs are artificially pressurized after fermentation with carbon dioxide or a mixture of carbon dioxide and nitrogen gas. A keg is an equipment that most brewers now use in the world. Since the advent of kegs, most homebrewers no longer use casks to produce their beer; they prefer to use kegs because you don’t need to handle it with much care. In a keg, the pressurized carbon dioxide in its headspace maintains the carbonation in the beer. The level of carbon dioxide pressure in the keg differs, and it is based on the amount of carbon dioxide already existing in the beer and the keg storage temperature. Most times, carbon dioxide mixes with nitrogen gas. When dispensing dry stouts like Guinness and other creamy beers, nitrogen is utilized under high pressure. It moves carbon dioxide to form a creamy tight head and a less carbonated taste. This is what makes the beer feel smooth on the palate and gives it a foamy appearance. Many premixed bottles of gas for creamy beers usually contain 25% carbon dioxide and 75% nitrogen. The term keg beer in the UK means the beer is pasteurized, while the cask ale means it is unpasteurized.
Conclusion
Lager beer is different from draught beer because of the way they are prepared. While lager beer is brewed using bottom-fermenting yeast, draught beer is brewed using top-fermenting yeast.
Draught beer is consumed unpasteurized, but the lager beer is pasteurized and stored for a very long time in a cask before it is bottled and consumed.
The lager beer and the draught beer are two great beers you can consume.