January 2000

Is there a difference in production methods between kegged beer and its bottled counterpart. I was told by a friend that there is a secondary fermentation caused by additional suger in bottled beer to provide the carbonation.

From Beer Dave: The difference between the national brewers (Miller, Bud, Coors etc.) bottled/canned beers and their draft/kegged beers is that the bottled and canned beers are sent through a pasteurization process. This kills any remaining yeast and or bacteria which could destroy the product's shelf life. Draft beer is not normally pasteurized. The carbonation of either of these products happens during fermentation and is controlled at the brewery with CO2 pressure from fermentation through packaging. Some beers are bottle conditioned. These means that they go through a secondary fermentation in the bottle and this does have an effect on the carbonation. This process is practiced by Goose Island, Deschutes, Fuller's and King & Barnes, to name a few.

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