Bottle vs Keg Tastes

[HiImBrian]

I've noticed now that my kegged beer usually tastes significantly better than my bottled beer and I'm trying to figure out exactly why. I just tried my citrus IPA and from the keg I get a very smooth grapefruit taste with a comfortable hop bitterness that even somebody that doesn't care for IPAs would enjoy, but then when I tried the bottle I get much less citrus and a lot more hop and even a light yeast taste. I enjoy both, but what I'm after is why are they so different?

Thoughts/Comments?

1) I'm adding 3/4 cup of corn sugar for a 5 gallon batch. This is the recommendation from the brew store. Is this too much/little?

2) Could it be that my bottles are essentially fermenting enough to alter the flavor? Has anybody ever tried bottling off their keg?

3) I brew 10 gallons and ferment in two separate 6 gallon carboys. Should I bottle one carboy earlier than I keg the other in order to keep taste closer?

 

[billl]

1) Yep - that is the ballpark.
2) Hop flavor fades over time, so kegging is probably getting you the freshest hop kick. It does referment in the bottle, so if you are sampling too quickly, you can get some off flavors. Lots of people bottle off their kegs.
3) If you like the kegged taste better, keg both. You can always fill growlers or some bottles to travel.