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04-02-2011, 17:00
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The Session: It's like a Royal Rumble of dispense.
This argument has been rumbling on for a while, and I doubt that I'm going to add anything meaningful to it apart from my own point of view. However, seeing as though one of my favourite blogs, Reluctant Scooper (http://www.reluctantscooper.co.uk/2011/01/announcing-session-48-cask-keg-bottle.html) is hosting the session, I thought I'd wade in. Hey, that's what the blog's for, so here goes.
Firstly - Bottle vs Can. Along with the true identity of Jack the Ripper, or why people ever rated Rafa Benitez, one of the true mysteries of life is why brewers put beer in clear glass bottles. It simply makes for a badly-kept beer, and one that tastes, no matter what beer it is, like all other beers in clear glass. Skunky. Harsh. Oxidised. Yuck. In the grand scheme of things, putting beer into cans holds no great pain for me; I've tried a few average US Pale Ales in cans and enjoyed not only the novelty, but the taste of the beer too. Some purists argue that the can taints the beer; let's get glass right first, eh? Bring on Canning, I say. My view will stay that way until I drink a beer that's genuinely been ruined by canning - the process, that is.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_y4tH-im3Mq8/TUwpT9iAW9I/AAAAAAAABc0/K2AQTKqh-Bg/s200/10061d008_726.jpg (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_y4tH-im3Mq8/TUwpT9iAW9I/AAAAAAAABc0/K2AQTKqh-Bg/s1600/10061d008_726.jpg) As for Keg...well, I have to agree with what Zak says (http://thebeerboy.blogspot.com/2011/02/session-48-cask-keg-can-bottle-does.html)in so much as that I'd like to think it's horses for courses; some beers suit being Keg-Dispensed, some not so. The turning point for me was when I took a trip to Edinburgh in 2009 (http://goodpeopleeats.blogspot.com/2009/10/weekend-jaunt-to-edinburgh.html)and enjoyed a pint of BrewDog 77 Lager on cask at The Abbotsford. Lovely it was; but at the time - for the first time, I might add - that flash of 'might be better served in Keg' came across my mind. Since then, there have been many beers that I've enjoyed on Keg, and those that I wish I had enjoyed on Keg - such as SummerWine's Project 6 IPA series. I know Andy and James are pro-Keg (http://raisethebeerbar.blogspot.com/2010/09/key-to-real-keg.html), but I really believe this. Powerful, aromatic beers that do well slightly colder are great on Keg, as are excellent lagers such as all-time-fave Moravka and, more recently, Thornbridge Italia (http://hopzine.com/?p=2344). Foley's Brewdog tap and North's constant Keg presence means we are sorted in Leeds, and The Grove (Huddersfield) unashamedly flaunts Keg as a dispense system for their US range; and that's not even mentioning BrewDog Aberdeen's all-Keg lineup. It's popular, and that's just here. When I open the West Coast Good Beer Guide, and am flicking the pages, gazing upon row upon row of Keg taps, I'm slightly romanced by it. It's not a fad, and there's no need to be scared of it. It's just another option.
Old Peculier from the wood? Stouts, lush, velvety Porters, fruity Ales and Brown Ales? Give me cask. Summer Ales, Weiss, Wits and Pales at a Summer Barbecue? Chill those bottles. The best dispense system for any beer is surely the one that suits it the most.
...By the way, if you've got the Good Beer US West Coast, flick to Page 97 and check out the Maiden Publick House. That's what I dream of: a bar in woods, with neon signs in the window and a shitload of great beer. If I win the lottery, that's what I'm buying. You're all invited.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/38739054-9045691791236224121?l=goodpeopleeats.blogspot.com
More... (http://goodpeopleeats.blogspot.com/2011/02/cask-vs-keg-vs-bottle-vs-can.html)
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The Session: It's like a Royal Rumble of dispense.
This argument has been rumbling on for a while, and I doubt that I'm going to add anything meaningful to it apart from my own point of view. However, seeing as though one of my favourite blogs, Reluctant Scooper (http://www.reluctantscooper.co.uk/2011/01/announcing-session-48-cask-keg-bottle.html) is hosting the session, I thought I'd wade in. Hey, that's what the blog's for, so here goes.
Firstly - Bottle vs Can. Along with the true identity of Jack the Ripper, or why people ever rated Rafa Benitez, one of the true mysteries of life is why brewers put beer in clear glass bottles. It simply makes for a badly-kept beer, and one that tastes, no matter what beer it is, like all other beers in clear glass. Skunky. Harsh. Oxidised. Yuck. In the grand scheme of things, putting beer into cans holds no great pain for me; I've tried a few average US Pale Ales in cans and enjoyed not only the novelty, but the taste of the beer too. Some purists argue that the can taints the beer; let's get glass right first, eh? Bring on Canning, I say. My view will stay that way until I drink a beer that's genuinely been ruined by canning - the process, that is.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_y4tH-im3Mq8/TUwpT9iAW9I/AAAAAAAABc0/K2AQTKqh-Bg/s200/10061d008_726.jpg (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_y4tH-im3Mq8/TUwpT9iAW9I/AAAAAAAABc0/K2AQTKqh-Bg/s1600/10061d008_726.jpg) As for Keg...well, I have to agree with what Zak says (http://thebeerboy.blogspot.com/2011/02/session-48-cask-keg-can-bottle-does.html)in so much as that I'd like to think it's horses for courses; some beers suit being Keg-Dispensed, some not so. The turning point for me was when I took a trip to Edinburgh in 2009 (http://goodpeopleeats.blogspot.com/2009/10/weekend-jaunt-to-edinburgh.html)and enjoyed a pint of BrewDog 77 Lager on cask at The Abbotsford. Lovely it was; but at the time - for the first time, I might add - that flash of 'might be better served in Keg' came across my mind. Since then, there have been many beers that I've enjoyed on Keg, and those that I wish I had enjoyed on Keg - such as SummerWine's Project 6 IPA series. I know Andy and James are pro-Keg (http://raisethebeerbar.blogspot.com/2010/09/key-to-real-keg.html), but I really believe this. Powerful, aromatic beers that do well slightly colder are great on Keg, as are excellent lagers such as all-time-fave Moravka and, more recently, Thornbridge Italia (http://hopzine.com/?p=2344). Foley's Brewdog tap and North's constant Keg presence means we are sorted in Leeds, and The Grove (Huddersfield) unashamedly flaunts Keg as a dispense system for their US range; and that's not even mentioning BrewDog Aberdeen's all-Keg lineup. It's popular, and that's just here. When I open the West Coast Good Beer Guide, and am flicking the pages, gazing upon row upon row of Keg taps, I'm slightly romanced by it. It's not a fad, and there's no need to be scared of it. It's just another option.
Old Peculier from the wood? Stouts, lush, velvety Porters, fruity Ales and Brown Ales? Give me cask. Summer Ales, Weiss, Wits and Pales at a Summer Barbecue? Chill those bottles. The best dispense system for any beer is surely the one that suits it the most.
...By the way, if you've got the Good Beer US West Coast, flick to Page 97 and check out the Maiden Publick House. That's what I dream of: a bar in woods, with neon signs in the window and a shitload of great beer. If I win the lottery, that's what I'm buying. You're all invited.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/38739054-9045691791236224121?l=goodpeopleeats.blogspot.com
More... (http://goodpeopleeats.blogspot.com/2011/02/cask-vs-keg-vs-bottle-vs-can.html)