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Draught beer (also called draft beer or tap beer) is "any beer that served from, or has been conditioned in, a cask or pressurized keg and then transferred to smaller containers." It includes cask ale and keg beer and even bottled and canned beer, especially those that are cold-filtered, or use nitrogen widgets. This use is controversial among older conservative beer drinkers.
Meaning The term draught beer is used because, originally, beer was pulled from casks with a hand pump. The word "draught" comes from the verb "to draw" (in the sense of "to pull"), and thus means beer that is drawn from a barrel. This is still widespread for real ale. In modern commercial beer dispense, the metal keg barrel is pressurized with carbon dioxide (CO2) gas. Pressure in the keg drives the beer to the dispensing tap, or faucet. The pressure of the CO2 in the keg is intended to maintain the dissolved CO2 in the beer. The CO2 pressure varies depending on the amount of CO2 the brewer crafted into the beer and the keg storage temperature. Occasionally the CO2 gas is blended with nitrogen (N2) gas. Blending with nitrogen gas allows the keg to be pressurized above the ideal set point for 100% CO2. Nitrogen is used because it is 80 times less soluble in water than CO2 (it is much more difficult to 'nitrogenate' than to 'carbonate'). Unpasteurised Draught beer is usually unpasteurised and therefore suffers no loss of taste due to heating of pasteurisation. It should be consumed quickly after being "tapped", and is generally truer to the flavours of the ingredients as pasteurisation exposes the beer to heat and changes the taste profile. Draught beer should be kept refrigerated between 2°C (35°F) and 4°C (40°F). Above 6°C (44°F), a beer may become wild, turn sour and cloudy in a day or two. Below 6°C (44°F), a keg of draft beer should last 20-30 days before it loses its fresh brewery taste and aroma. Draught-flow Recently the words "draft" and "draught" have been used as marketing terms to describe unpasteurised canned or bottled beers, implying that they taste and appear as beers from a keg or cask. Two examples are Miller Genuine Draft, which is a cold-filtered lager, and Guinness stout in patented "Draught-flow" cans and bottles. Guinness is an example of beers that use widgets to simulate the turbulence caused when draught beer is forced or pulled through a sparkler draught faucet (also known as a swan neck). Smooth flow Smooth flow (also known as cream flow or just smooth) is the name brewers give to beers pressurised with nitrogen; either from a can or bottle with a widget, or from a pressurised keg. See also | ||||||||
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