Amarillo Pale Ale 1056 vs Nottingham

I brewed a Haus Pale Ale (all grain) using all Amarillo instead of Cascade about 4 months ago that seemed pretty good in the bottle. I saved one and brewed it again, incresing the Amarillo about 33%, including a FWH addition. I also pitched a 2L starter of 1056 instead of dry Nottingham and kegged instead of bottling. This seemed like a great opportunity to see some differences between yeasts and increasing the hops. Well...

The bottled Nottingham batch was good, despite a nutty character that I did not love (i drank it all, though). It was the color I expected and had a pronounced Amarillo flavor/aroma. The 1056 batch I kegged. It has been really good, with moments of Amarillo overload if there is such a thing. After a week in the keg, there was little in the way of yeast character that I could detect.

Tonight I chilled the bottle and did a side by side comparison in clear plastic cups. The first thing that struck me was the color difference. The Nottingham batch had darkened and lost clarity, while the 1056 batch was bright, golden yellow, crystal clear and better than ever. The Nottingham batch had lost all hop aroma and tasted cheap, cidery and like my friend's Mr. Beer results. The kegged 1056 batch is clean, crisp and very hoppy. Carbonation was similar for both. So what do you think happened? Ingredients were all from the same shop and equipment was the same until bottling/kegging. Was the bottle infected or is this an illustration of the difference between liquid and dry yeast?

I don't know, but it sounds like you're comparing a 4 month old beer to a fresher beer? Hops aroma fades amazingly fast, in my opinion.

I get that, but the kegged batch is only 5 weeks younger than the bottled. I would at least expect it to taste like decent, if not plain, beer once the hops had faded. I have an older stout has faded but still tastes good. This one went down the drain...

Ah. Well, darkening and loss of clarity sounds like an infection, or maybe oxidation (for the darkening).

I use Nottingham a lot and have had great results with it. The 1056 is better but I can't tell that much difference. I keg and bottle beer and I don't recall a situation like yours. I don't believe it's yeast related. Perhaps contamination of some sort? Were the bottles left out in the light for a long time?

No sun, just room temp in a dark closet until cooling.