Why are some bottled beers stronger than casked?

[MrN]

I've got a slightly random question, that I wasn't even sure where to post it... Why are bottled versions of some beers stronger than the casked version. I thinking: Adnams Broadside and Bath Gem for example, I'm sure there's more though.

Also which do people generally prefer? Specifically, when trying to clone a beer, which strength would you normally try to replicate? Broadside I definitely prefer cask (I often am down in Southwold at Christmas, so I make sure to pick up a mini keg or two of it whilst I'm there!). Thinking I might have a go at harvesting the yeast and doing my own!

[Jocky]

Three things:

The extra carbonation in bottled beer washes out some of the flavour from cask ale, so the recipe will be bumped up a bit to compensate.

A lot of bottled beer isn't brewed or bottled in the same brewery as the original cask ale, so it'll be brewed on different kit by different people, with the recipe adjusted as such.

Perhaps someone in the industry can confirm, but I suspect the official tests done and submitted to HMRC or whoever are done separately for bottle and cask, so any variation between tests will become official when published.

[Bad 'Ed]

I doubt breweries are obliged to keep the same recipe for a specific beer (brand) so why would HMRC care? All they care about is the ingredients and abv of each batch.

I agree it is done to try to match the flavour - I spoke to one of the brewers at Black Sheep and though they brewed both the cask and bottled version of their beers, the recipe was surprisingly different for the two. Both had a different abv as you pointed out, with the bottled one being a couple of points higher.

Cask is always better imo. I've never had a beer which I thought was better from bottle than cask. I can imagine styles which would be (like hefes or lagers) but these never come in casks.

[MrN]

Interesting, thank you. I guess this leads me to another question: why are bottled beers more highly carbonated? My last homebrew I bottled and carbonated to about 1.5 and, out of a bottle, this does actually taste a bit flat but I think this must just be because I'm used to bottled beer being a bit fizzier. Why does it make a difference?

[basswulf]

I did a tour at the Wychwood Brewery in Witney, Oxfordshire a couple of years ago and the explanation given by the brewer leading the tour was that pubs want weaker beers so that you can drink more pints before staggering home. It certainly sounds plausible. I suspect that - and the question of carbonation - could also be to do with the fact a bottle might be stored for a long time and relies on its carbonation to deliver a head to the beer. Beer destined for pubs is going to be consumed a lot quicker and served via a pump. I suspect that cask beer stored in a bottle for several months would fall flat (pun partially intended) compared to a freshly drawn pint.

FWIW, I think home brew stored in bottles offers the ability to fine tune things to your taste. I've never come close to the level of carbonation of some commercial bottled beers I can think of but I have found that a syringe used to draw up and reinject a small amount of beer into the glass is a neat trick for getting a creamier head (caution though - if the beer isn't completely flat it bubbles up more than you might expect!).

Wulf

[Fastline]

Totally going off on a tangent but I prefer the bottled versions of most beers, I would say because of the extra carbonation.
I think it is wise to keep good records on beers and if having problems with final carbonation to adjust priming sugar up or down to suit style and taste.
Also storage temp of bottled beer is important at the beginning that its high enough to get fermentation going and then in a cooler range to condition and I could be wrong here but I think it helps the CO2 get absorbed

[Evvo]

I think Wulf is halfway there with his reasoning. Also lower strength beers are cheaper due to less tax being applied. This makes negligible difference to the end consumer buying a couple of bottles but is significant for the commercial user.

[john luc]

Thornbridge Jaipur in bottle is not the same as it's cask version.

[simon12]

http://adnams.co.uk/about/news/beer-new ... e-and-why/
See above for Adnams explanation, It states the 6.3% version wasn't suitable for casks but doesn't explain why exactly.