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Tasting topic/ Keg vs. Bottle


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#1 BarelyBrews

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Posted 23 September 2014 - 08:02 PM

I bottled 5 gallons of my Chinook Pale ale this morning ,and i honestly say it taste dynamite in the bottle. Why is that ? i think it hides some of the Aroma's and maybe malt aromas. I pick up the smoothness at first and a little bite in the after taste.  Kind of like how other beers will taste OK in the bottle and Outstanding on TAP.  Anyone else experience something like this?

 



#2 neddles

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Posted 23 September 2014 - 08:14 PM

Are you drinking it right out of the bottle?



#3 Steve Urquell

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Posted 24 September 2014 - 03:54 AM

I brew 7 gallon batches and typically bottle 12-15 and keg 5 gallons. They taste different every time. Kegged tastes cleaner/crisper but can be harsher with highly hopped beers. Bottled is milder and sweeter. I always prefer the kegged but some of my friends prefer the bottled versions. Everyone agrees that there is a distinct difference in side by side tasting though.I don't know why it changes but my theory includes that the bottle conditioning does something to it and the cap liner absorbs hop character. There's also a flavor from the bottled version that the kegged doesn't have. Tastes like baking soda to me. I can taste it in bottle conditioned homebrew from other brewers too. Until I kegged I figured I'd never get rid of that taste.

#4 HVB

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Posted 24 September 2014 - 04:44 AM

This brings up a question for me.  If you plan to bottle a batch over kegging would you adjust your recipe?



#5 Steve Urquell

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Posted 24 September 2014 - 04:50 AM

This brings up a question for me.  If you plan to bottle a batch over kegging would you adjust your recipe?

Would make sense. Up late hop additions and less flavor malt additions. I bottled for 5 years though and grew to hate it. If I hadn't switched to kegging I would have quit brewing.

#6 HVB

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Posted 24 September 2014 - 05:14 AM

Would make sense. Up late hop additions and less flavor malt additions. I bottled for 5 years though and grew to hate it. If I hadn't switched to kegging I would have quit brewing.

I agree with you 100% on that.  I was thinking about people that enter comps.  Seeing those beers need to be bottled would it be helpful to design a beer around that.  These days my "bottles" consist of growlers for consumption hours after it's filled.


Edited by drez77, 24 September 2014 - 05:14 AM.


#7 Steve Urquell

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Posted 24 September 2014 - 05:18 AM

I agree with you 100% on that.  I was thinking about people that enter comps.  Seeing those beers need to be bottled would it be helpful to design a beer around that.  These days my "bottles" consist of growlers for consumption hours after it's filled.

I was going to add that my bottled from keg hoppy beers lose flavor fast too. Just opened 1 and tasted it vs the bottle conditioned version and the bottled from keg version had less flavor than the bottle conditioned version. Probably oxidation from the transfer plus the cap liner.

#8 positiveContact

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Posted 24 September 2014 - 05:23 AM

I think a good test would be to naturally carb a keg and then force carb another keg.  I could pretty easily do this since most of my batches are split into 2 kegs.  only issue I see is that I usually cold crash before kegging and then keep the beer cold so it would kind of throw a monkey wrench in my typical process.



#9 Poptop

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Posted 24 September 2014 - 05:43 AM

I've noticed that sugaring a keg offers a creamier/silkier mouthfeel to the beer over force carbing.  I don't have anything in the fridge or keezer right now to make a taste comparison.

 

 

Something I'm thinking... not so much flavor in certain cases but level of carbonation.  For example I am getting in the habit of bottling my Belgians more and more because I like the carbonation and how it plays with the flavor and mouthfeel.  My kegged Belgians typically come out very nice but I seem to enjoy my bottled ones better and think it has much to do with carb level....  Maybe I'm wrong.....



#10 positiveContact

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Posted 24 September 2014 - 05:47 AM

why not just carb less when you keg?



#11 Poptop

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Posted 24 September 2014 - 05:51 AM

I like the higher carbonation level in the bottle.  I cannot seem to achieve the "tiny bubbles" in the keg.  Also, I have three lines on one regulator so they all get the same carb.



#12 positiveContact

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Posted 24 September 2014 - 05:54 AM

I like the higher carbonation level in the bottle.  I cannot seem to achieve the "tiny bubbles" in the keg.  Also, I have three lines on one regulator so they all get the same carb.

 

have you tried priming a keg to see how that compares?



#13 Poptop

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Posted 24 September 2014 - 06:13 AM

When I'm awaiting a space in the keezer I do prime my kegs and think that it offers a creaminess and silkier mouth feel to the batch.  I like the flavor that it imparts for sure. 

 

I don't think it offers the same carb taste as bottles.


Edited by Steppedonapoptop, 24 September 2014 - 06:13 AM.


#14 Poptop

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Posted 24 September 2014 - 06:19 AM

FWIW, I typically bump up my hops for bottled batches.  I don't mess with the malt bill.



#15 BarelyBrews

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Posted 24 September 2014 - 06:22 AM

Are you drinking it right out of the bottle?

Yes sir.



#16 SchwanzBrewer

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Posted 24 September 2014 - 07:24 AM

Yes sir.

 

That will make a difference in itself. You aren't getting all the aromas that you get from the beer in a glass.



#17 neddles

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Posted 24 September 2014 - 09:50 AM

Yes sir.

That completely removes the olfactory component your taste sensory. Dulls the impact of flavor.




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