Beer Appreciation

Draught Beer

Often misunderstood, draught beer provides an opportunity for the consumer to experience great beer in single servings.

What it really is!

Beer that is poured from a tap and is packaged in either a keg or cask
Sometimes, the best beer you’ll ever get
Beer that has less carbonation that bottled beer (slightly)
Approximately 10% of all beer consumed in Canada

Pasteurization?

Is a heat process that extends shelf life for many products including beer
Can affect flavours if not properly monitored (unlikely for most brewers)
Is very expensive and therefore generally available to larger brewers
Most beers that have been imported are pasteurized (exceptions are generally refermented beers – it would kill the yeast). It takes at least 3 months to arrive in Canada.
Beers that has been ‘cold’ filtered or sterile filtered often have the same life span of pasteurized beers

Quality to the Consumer

Fresh draught beer is often the finest beer you will ever get (kegs are stainless steel and don’t impart flavours and oxygen and light can’t get to the beer to start any off flavours
Draught beer should be poured with at least 1” of foam (protects it from oxygen, lets some carbonation out and keeps some in and brings the aromas out)
Draught beer lines should be cleaned every 3-4 weeks to prevent bacteria from building up in the lines
Compressed gas should be used to push beer from the keg to the tap. The right mixture of gas depends on the draught system size.
The tap should never come in contact with the glass or the beer. Beer is a food product and can attract bacteria if it is left on the tap.
Your beer should never be topped up – you will just receive a blast of CO2
Kegs when tapped have a very short life span and can go flat if not used fast enough
The colder beer gets, the less flavour it has. Frozen glasses may be great for that real, hot summer day but it does nothing for the taste of the beer. Besides, pouring beer into a frozen glass results in an excess of foam – which means that your beer will have to be topped up. See above.
Beer glasses should never have bubbles clinging to the inside of the glass

Ask for the right glass for the right beer – tall and narrow for lagers, short and fat for ales. Most brewers are now making glasses that suit their brands.