Different taste between bottle and keg

I bottled half and kegged half of a blackberry porter. The kegged portion didn't last very long because it tasted so good. I tried one of the bottles about 2 weeks after bottling and it was ok but not as good as the kegged version. I waited until last night (about 5 weeks in the bottle) and tried another bottle and It tastes the same as before. Any thoughts on why the kegged beer tastes better?

Well, how was it better? Different levels of carbonation might have an impact in how you perceive certain aspects of the beer. Stupid question, but were you serving at the same temps out of the keg and out of the bottle? Did the bottle taste "off" at all (anything that might indicate an infection?)

could the bottle have tasted 'stale'?

i know if i let my bottle spigot run too fast, my filling wand really seems to foam a lot, and I have suspicions that this is causing oxidation. maybe not a ton, but a little bit could definitely be tasted from what I understand, and would probably only get more pronounced.

Could it just be the difference between bulk carbing/conditioning 2.5 gallons and single bottle carbing/conditioning? Nothing wrong with either, just a difference in taste? Like how coke or any softdrink tastes different when pulled from a fountain dispenser vs a bottle of the stuff? If the mix is right, the fountain drink just tastes "fresher?"

I think the serving temp. is pretty close. The kegged beer has more flavor, especially the blackberry. I would describe the bottled version as bland with almost no blackberry taste at all. It probably is a difference in carbonation. I didn't even think of the coke thing, it does always taste better out of a soda dispensor.

I have found the same thing myself. I think maybe I am just inadvertently carbonating the kegs at higher volumes and I simply prefer it that way. It definitely tastes more... "fresh" for lack of a better word.

Could also be bulk aging, I dunno.

If you primed the bottles with sugar and force carb'd the keg. That's a big difference.

Additional priming sugar can dry out the beer in bottles just a bit more.
Bottle primed beer also will have some additional yeast that can affect the flavor.

I actually find that bottles tend to continue to gain in carbonation and get slightly over carb'd over time. Too much carboantion can disguise the flavors of beer.

If you suspect the beer is a bit too "fizzy", try doing a more aggressive pour to knock down the bubbles, let rest 5 minutes and see if the flavor comes through a bit more.

I've also found that if you refrigerate the bottle for a week before drinking, it cold conditions and taste better. The CO2 will absorb back into the beer at a colder level (assuming that it degassed to begin with) and taste more cohesive.


How long did you refrigerate before serving? I bet you held your keg colder, longer...


:cross:

The naturally carbonated beer in the bottles will also have a higher ABV than a force carbed keg.

Now I have a nice little twist. I kegged an IPA and bottled a 12 pack out of it to save. That kegged beer was ok but it always had a caramel taste to it. It wasn't like any other IPA I ever had. Iwent away for a week and when I got home a poured a glass from the keg and it an extremely strong caramel taste, much more than before. Last night we decided to try one of the bottled IPA's to see how bad they were. It was very good. Nothing at all like the kegged version. I'm thinking something happened in the keg, maybe I didn't clean it well enough or rinse it. I can't figure this one out.

This is just a shot in the dark here, but is it possible that it is just conditioning at different rates. Bulk conditioning might happen a good deal faster than bottle conditioning.