Editing Draught beer

{{short description|Beer served from a cask or keg}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2007}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2013}}
[[File:Keg Fonts.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Draught beer fonts at the Delirium Café in Brussels]]

'''Draught beer'''{{Needs IPA}},<!---That's funny --> also spelt<!---This is the correct spelling in British English, in which this article is written, please do not change or remove this note.-->  '''draft''', is [[beer]] served from a [[cask]] or [[keg]] rather than from a bottle or can.<ref>{{Cite web |last=S |first=Karl |date=2022-03-12 |title=Draft Beer Explained: The Homebrewer's Guide [Brewing Insights] |url=https://homebrewacademy.com/draft-beer/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=Homebrew Academy |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Draft vs. Draught {{!}} Clearing The Air |url=https://www.nocoastbeer.co/blogs/blog/draft-vs-draught-clearing-the-air |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=NoCoast Beer Co.}}</ref> Draught beer served from a pressurised keg is also known as {{nowrap|'''keg beer'''.}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=BaWG |date=2018-12-17 |title=What is Draught or Draft Beer? Everything You Need to Know |url=https://beerandwine.guide/beer/what-is-draught-or-draft-beer-everything-you-need-to-know/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=Beer & Wine Guide |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Infante |first=Dave |date=2023-08-17 |title=Draft Dodgers Are Killing Keg Beer |url=https://vinepair.com/articles/draft-beer-in-decline/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=VinePair |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Draught Beer Archives |url=https://www.brewersassociation.org/resource-hub/draught-beer/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=Brewers Association |language=en-US}}</ref>

{{anchor|Etymology|Usage}}

== Name ==

Until [[Joseph Bramah]] patented the [[beer engine]] in 1785, beer was served directly from the barrel and carried to the customer. The [[Old English]] ''{{lang|ang|{{linktext|dragan}}}}'' ("carry; pull") developed into a series of related words including ''drag'', ''draw'', and ''draught''. By the time Bramah's beer pumps became popular, the use of the term ''draught'' to refer to the acts of serving or drinking beer was well established and transferred easily to beer served via the hand pumps. In time, the word came to be restricted to only such beer. The usual spelling is now "draught" in the [[British English|United Kingdom]], [[Irish English|Ireland]], [[Australian English|Australia]], and [[New Zealand English|New Zealand]] and more commonly "draft" in [[North America]], although it can be spe<!--British English-->lt<!--not an error--> either way. Regardless of spelling, the word is pronounced {{IPAc-en|d|r|ɑː|f|t}} or {{IPAc-en|d|r|æ|f|t}}<ref>{{cite dictionary|title=Draft {{!}} Define Draft at Dictionary.com|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/draft|dictionary=Dictionary.com|access-date=3 February 2013}}</ref> depending on the region the speaker is from.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-04 |title=Draft Beer: Let It Pour |url=https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2023/12/04/concessions |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=www.sportsbusinessjournal.com}}</ref>

'''Canned draught''' is beer served from a pressurised container featuring a [[Widget (beer)|widget]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kerry |first1=Joseph |last2=Butler |first2=Paul |date=2008 |title=Smart Packaging Technologies for Fast Moving Consumer Goods |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vk_Gpa5oiloC&pg=PA213 |page=213 |publisher=[[John Wiley and Sons]] |isbn=9780470753682 |access-date=29 February 2012}}</ref> '''Smooth flow''' (also known as '''cream flow''', '''nitrokeg''', or '''smooth''') is the name brewers give to draught beers pressurised with a partial nitrogen gas blend.

== History ==
In 1691, an article in the ''[[London Gazette]]'' mentioned [[John Lofting]], who held a patent for a [[Fire apparatus|fire engine]]: "The said patentee has also projected a very useful engine for starting of beer, and other liquors which will draw from 20 to 30 barrels an hour, which are completely fixed with brass joints and screws at reasonable rates".

In the early 20th century, draught beer started to be served from pressurised containers. Artificial [[carbonation]] was introduced in the [[United Kingdom]] in 1936, with [[James Watney|Watney]]'s experimental [[Pasteurization|pasteurised]] beer [[Watney Combe & Reid#Watneys Red Barrel|Red Barrel]]. Though this method of serving beer did not take hold in the UK until the late 1950s, it did become the favoured method in the rest of Europe, where it is known by such terms as ''en pression''. The carbonation method of serving beer subsequently spread to the rest of the world; by the early 1970s the term "draught beer" almost exclusively referred to beer served under pressure as opposed to the traditional cask or barrel beer.

In Britain, the [[Campaign for Real Ale]] (CAMRA) was founded in 1971 to protect traditional—unpressurised—beer and brewing methods. The group devised the term ''[[Cask ale#Real ale|real ale]]'' to differentiate between beer served from the cask and beer served under pressure. The term ''real ale'' has since been expanded to include [[Bottle conditioning|bottle-conditioned]] beer.

== Keg beer ==
[[File:Beer Keg outside the Plasterers Arms, Hoylake.JPG|upright|thumb|A typical {{convert|11|impgal|L|adj=on|order=flip}} keg with single opening in the centre of the top end]]
Keg beer is often [[filtration|filtered]] and/or [[pasteurization|pasteurised]], both of which are processes that render the [[yeast]] inactive.<ref>{{Cite web|title=What is The Beer Pasteurization Process?|url=https://www.micromatic.com/beer-pasteurization|access-date=2021-04-30|website=micromatic.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=universitydrafthouseadmin |date=2023-03-27 |title=The Benefits of Draft Beer |url=https://universitydrafthouse.com/2023/03/27/the-benefits-of-draft-beer/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=University Draft House |language=en-US}}</ref>

In brewing parlance, a keg is different from a [[cask]]. A cask has a tap hole near the edge of the top, and a [[spile]] hole on the side used for conditioning the unfiltered and unpasteurised beer. A keg has a single opening in the centre of the top to which a flow pipe is attached. Kegs are artificially pressurised after [[Brewing#Fermenting|fermentation]] with [[carbon dioxide]] or a mixture of carbon dioxide and [[nitrogen]] gas or especially in [[Czech Republic]] solely [[compressed air]].

''Keg'' has become a term of contempt used by some, particularly in the UK, since the 1960s when pasteurised draught beers started replacing traditional cask beers.

Keg beer was replacing traditional cask ale in all parts of the UK, primarily because it requires less care to handle. Since 1971, CAMRA has conducted a consumer campaign on behalf of those who prefer traditional cask beer. CAMRA has lobbied the [[British Parliament]] to ensure support for [[cask ale]] and [[microbrewery|microbreweries]] have sprung up to serve those consumers who prefer traditional cask beer.

Pressurised CO<sub>2</sub> in the keg's headspace maintains carbonation in the beer. The CO<sub>2</sub> pressure varies depending on the amount of CO<sub>2</sub> already in the beer and the keg storage temperature. Occasionally the CO<sub>2</sub> gas is blended with nitrogen gas. CO<sub>2</sub> / nitrogen blends are used to allow a higher operating pressure in complex dispensing systems.

Nitrogen is used under high pressure when dispensing dry [[Stout beer|stouts]] (such as [[Guinness]]) and other creamy beers because it displaces CO<sub>2</sub> to (artificially) form a rich tight [[Head (beer)|head]] and a less carbonated taste. This makes the beer feel smooth on the palate and gives a foamy appearance. Premixed bottled gas for creamy beers is usually 75% nitrogen and 25% CO<sub>2</sub>.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.lbbrew.com/beer-on-nitro/|title = Beer on Nitro|last = Burns|date = 6 July 2013|first = David|website = Lake Bluff Brewing Company|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131004232043/http://www.lbbrew.com/beer-on-nitro/|archive-date = 4 October 2013}}</ref> This premixed gas, which only works well with creamy beers, is often referred to as Guinness Gas, Beer Gas, or Aligal (an Air Liquide brand name). Using "Beer Gas" with other [[beer style]]s can cause the last 5% to 10% of the beer in each keg to taste very flat and lifeless. In the UK, the term ''keg beer'' would imply the beer is pasteurised, in contrast to unpasteurised cask ale. Some of the newer microbreweries may offer a nitro keg stout which is filtered but not pasteurised.

== Storage and serving temperature ==
Cask beer should be stored and served at a cellar temperature of {{Convert|12|C}}. Once a cask is opened, it should be consumed within three days. Keg beer is given additional cooling just prior to being served either by flash coolers or a remote cooler in the cellar. This chills the beer to temperatures between {{Convert|3|and|8|C|disp=b|F}}.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

== Canned and bottled "draught" ==

The words "draft" and "draught" have been used as marketing terms to describe [[aluminum can|canned]] or [[bottle]]d beers, implying that they taste and appear like beers from a cask or keg. Commercial brewers use this as a marketing tool although it is incorrect to call any beer not drawn from a cask or keg "draught". Two examples are [[Miller Genuine Draft]], a [[pale lager]] which is produced using a cold filtering system, and [[Guinness]] stout in patented "Draught-flow" cans and bottles. Guinness is an example of beers that use a nitrogen [[Widget (beer)|widget]] to create a smooth beer with a dense [[Beer head|head]]. Guinness has recently replaced the widget system from their bottled "draught" beer with a coating of cellulose fibres on the inside of the bottle. Statements indicate a new development in bottling technology that enables the mixture of nitrogen and carbon dioxide to be present in the beer without using a widget, making it according to Guinness "more drinkable" from the bottle.

In [[East Asia]]n countries, such as [[China]] and [[Japan]], the term "draft beer" ({{cjkv|c=生啤酒|j=生ビール}}) applied to canned or bottled beer indicates that the beer is not pasteurised (though it may be filtered), giving it a fresher taste but shorter shelf-life than conventional packaged beers.

== See also ==
{{Portal|Beer}}
* [[Cask ale]]
* [[Beer tap]]
* [[Cask breather]]
* [[Growler (jug)]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071121184425/http://www.alabev.com/draught.htm Draught Beer Information]: Much information regarding draught beer storage and equipment.
* [http://www.heinekenireland.com/content/live/Downloads/Draught%20Product%20Suppliers%20Cooling%20Specification.pdf Irish Specification]: PDF version of The Irish Draught Beer Specification
* [http://www.1001-beers.com/index-choix-game-draft-beer.html Serving a draught beer] - Information about how to use properly a draught beer dispensing device
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Draught Beer}}
[[Category:Types of beer]]