Keg beer

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A typical half-keg with single opening in the centre of the top end

Keg beer is a term for beer which is served from a pressurized keg. While often considered synonymous to draught beer, keg beer refers specifically to beer served under pressure, while draught beer may refer to any beer served from a larger container, including both keg beer and cask ale. Keg beer is often filtered and/or pasteurized, both of which are processes that render the yeast inactive, increasing the shelf life of the product at the expense of flavor.

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 fermentation with carbon dioxide or a mixture of carbon dioxide and nitrogen gas.

Keg has become a term of contempt used by some since the 1960s as pasteurised draught beers were replacing traditional cask beers. The quality of the kegging process was not as good then as it is today, and sometimes the keg beers are referred to as Plastic Beer. Some people believed that chemicals (adjuncts) were used to create a foam head. These perceptions still dog Keg beer to this day.

Despite this consumer concern, keg beer was replacing traditional cask ale in all parts of the UK, primarily because it requires less care to handle. Since the mid-1970s, the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has been conducting a successful consumer campaign which focused attention on those consumers who preferred traditional cask beer. As well as this CAMRA has lobbied the British Parliament successfully to ensure support for cask ale. New, small microbreweries have sprung up to serve those consumers who prefer traditional cask beer. Today most pubs in the UK will serve both keg and cask beer.