Taste difference of bottled beer vs. canned beer
I think that the taste from a canned beer is different to the taste of the bottled beer. The same I experience for soft drinks. Is my sensory system distorted or do I suffer from an illusion?
Can this be true at all / could this be explained somehow by the used material?
Best Answer
According to the only study we have(PDF of original study) on the topic, it does not make a difference whether beer comes from a bottle or can. In this study, participants who were shown the bottle or can had a preference for bottles, but participants who were not shown the beer container did not.
Results from the blind taste test – when participants had no knowledge about the beers or where they came from – showed that there were no preferences for bottled or canned beer, one way or another. Nearly 45% of participants rated the canned beer better than the bottled, 41% of participants rated the bottled beer better than the canned, and close to 1.5% said they both tasted the same.
Of necessity, the participants in this study were drinking from a plastic cup. So it remains possible that you can taste the container directly if you are drinking straight from the bottle or can, with the glass or aluminum touching your lips.
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Which is better canned or bottled beer?
But canned beers are much more likely to be fresher, and therefore taste better, than those held in a bottle. That's because a can locks in the flavors of the beer and keeps out light, a major beer enemy, preventing it from souring or spoiling sooner.What is the difference between bottled beer and canned beer?
Canned Beer However, cans have been known to be much better for beer storage than bottles. Cans can keep the flavor stable for longer, because it is hermetically sealed, so nothing can go in or out. They also let in no light, which keeps the beer happy and in the dark.Does beer taste different in a can vs glass?
At the end of the day, when the beer is poured into a glass, it all tastes the same regardless of whether it originally came from a bottle or a can.Bottled Vs. Canned Beer Taste Test
More answers regarding taste difference of bottled beer vs. canned beer
Answer 2
Using bottles can be a bit of a liability if they are not brown. When hops is added to beer, they release chemical compounds called Iso-Alpha Acids. They're bitter on their own, but when exposed to sunlight they break down and interact with other molecules in the beer to produce a molecule that's almost identical to the one in a skunk's smelly spray.
Grolsch bottles seem like a fabulous deal with the swing-tops, but what they don't tell you is that they are green, they have very specific packaging that keeps the sunlight from spoiling it. With cans you have none of that problem.
20 years ago there used to be a stigma in regards to drinking beer from a can, but I think with the environmental lookout that the people of 2020 have, cans seem like a better solution.
Answer 3
Ideally, we shouldn’t be drinking beer directly from cans or bottles, but poured into a glass.
That said, cans are a superior packaging solution for beer because they allow no light. UV absolutely annihilates hop flavors. That’s why we see green bottles (which offer minor protection) and brown bottles (which offer substantial, but not complete protection).
If you’re drinking out of a can, your nose is right up against a dusty metal object. That scent will negatively impact your experience.
In the US, cans suffer from negative customer perception because “back in the day” folks were used to seeing Budweiser in cans and higher priced imports in glass.
Now, American craft beer is on equal footing with foreign competitors and many packaging options are popular yet the stigma remains.
Don’t be afraid of cans. Pour your beer into a glass.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Andrea Piacquadio, Maria das Dores, Anete Lusina, Anete Lusina