Bottled beer

[Battleaxe]

I know there is an obvious answer to this...

Bottles of beer bought from the supermarket regardless of brand all seem to taste the same to me and have no real character... They are nice and there are some variances but it's still just beer.

It became really apparent today after sampling a guest ale on pump on Sunday and having the same ale from a bottle tonight. The pub ale had a wonderful hoppy taste and aroma and was overall a nice pint. The bottle had no head no hoppy taste and tasted like a non descript beer...

Why the difference?

And does homebrew taste close to pub beer or bottled beer?

 

[Slid]

Hi Battleaxe

Hoppy beers need to be drunk relatively soon or the hop aroma is dissipated.

Rule applies to Hoppy homebrewed beers - they will be like pub beers if drunk on pub-like timescales - after a few short weeks they start to fade.

Another complication, however, with bottled beers is that the fermentation process is often terminated early - with homebrew the beer is in constant contact with the yeast and this is what enables "maturation" of the beer.

So if the supermarket-bought bottled beer was bottled after 3 wks from pitching, it will always be 3 wks old. And no matter what the adverts say, "fresh" beer is not "good" beer.

 

[Battleaxe]

So bottle conditioned homebrew should be very similar to pub ale? Due to similar processes?

From what I've read bottled ale has been pasteurised which I imagine kills the yeast?

I was sorely disappointed this evening, the bottled version would put me off if I saw the same ale on tap in the pub.

The only bottled ale I've really enjoyed is Old P but it's still not a patch on what you get from a well kept pub pint.

 

[howyoubrewin]

Just out of interest did you chill the bottled version of the beer and drink it cold?

 

[Battleaxe]

Nope never do, always try to keep the bottles somewhere cool not chilled usually <19 deg according to my thermometer testing last night in the porch it's the coolest place in the house.

 

[howyoubrewin]

Sometimes chilling the beer too much can stifle the hop characteristic a bit but in this case that can't be the reason by the sound of it.

 

[DoctorMick]

If you poured the bottle in to a glass washed with washing up liquid that could explain the lack of head.

 

[Cwrw666]

Real ale from the pub isn't pressurised with CO2 whereas the same beer in bottles is. I agree with you about how dissapointing some of these supermarket bottled beers are. Hobgoblin isn't exactly spectacular from a bottle but the same from a beer engine in a pub is far far better.
With regards to homebrew I find there is quite a difference depending on whether you bottle or pressure barrel your brew. Stout from a PB has a thick creamy head that stays til the end of your pint, but the same brew from a bottle has a much inferior head and doesn't taste as smooth either.

 

[Battleaxe]

I have noticed a chilled bottle makes a difference, I've just sampled a bottle of landlord at room temperature, which was very good and had a good flavour and hop aroma similar but not as smooth as the pub.... And now I'm sat with a black sheep it's colder it's bitter and has no real character...

I always wipe my glass with a microfibre cloth so they its sparkling before I pour... (OCD Clean)

 

[clibit]

Commercial bottled beers, unless they are bottle conditioned, are pasteurised, filtered and gassed with CO2. Pasteurisation and filtration strip out flavour.

Homebrewed beer is akin to pub real ale. Camra classifies real ale as beers that are cask conditioned or bottle conditioned, naturally carbonated in the container by yeast.

 

[Battleaxe]

Commercial bottled beers, unless they are bottle conditioned, are pasteurised, filtered and gassed with CO2. Pasteurisation and filtration strip out flavour.

Homebrewed beer is akin to pub real ale. Camra classifies real ale as beers that are cask conditioned or bottle conditioned, naturally carbonated in the container by yeast.

Makes sense. Cheers clibit so an ale from a bottle that's been pasteurised and filtered is not classed as a real ale unless it's bottle conditioned...

 

[clibit]

That's correct.

 

[Battleaxe]

So there's a lie in the label, in my local Tesco the local section of the beer area as I'm in Yorkshire has black sheep and Leeds brewery theakstons etc they all advertise award winning real ale on their bottles... But as a technicality unless it's bottle conditioned it's not real ale it's fake ale from the same brewery that makes the real ale you'd find in the pub...

I know it's never going to be as nice unless it's the real thing in a a well kept pub. But It would be nice if it was at least 75% there in the bottle.

 

[clibit]

The Camra definition of real ale is cask or bottle conditioned. I think they are being clever and referring to the cask conditioned version when they say award winning real ale. I'm not a camra person though, and I have had great beers that don't meet the criteria.

 

[CreweBrewer]

I'm not a camra person though...

You mean you don't have a bumbag and a note pad?! Shame on you! :rofl:

 

[clibit]

No I bloody don't. :???:

 

[Battleaxe]

They only have the bumbag to carry stolen pint glasses it serves no other purpose.

 

[Niman]

lol must say i have some issues with camra

im at an age 21+ extortionate vat

that i can remember the idea of an ale (here anyhow) was a bottle of newcastle brown..

dont get me wrong when the choice was draught "harp" "tennents" etc Dog was grand

here in Belfast you would still struggle to find a pint of bitter or mild..when i say struggle i mean id give healthy odds that you couldnt.

CAMRA however IMO have very little to do with the promotion of real ale....here any how it is a tour of spoons pubs with bearded people who should know better wearing bad fitting t shirts and thats just the women.

on the plus side 15 0r 20 years ago it prob made me realise i could do better..

which isnt difficult...

 

[Covrich]

Some bottled Beers now off the shelf are bottle conditioned

If I recall I think the St Austell Beers like Proper Job are bottle conditioned and have a big hoppy spike (and of course sediment)