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Why draught beer has a superior taste to bottled beer

Draught beer is always cold because the system is designed in such a way that as the beer leaves the keg towards the faucet, it passes through a special cooler in between. Photo/ iStock

What you need to know:

  • Ugandans insist on physically seeing you pop the bottle top off or they won’t drink it.
  • They don’t trust anyone with their drink. Unlike bottled beer, draught beer is neither pasteurised nor filtered.
  • Unlike bottled or canned beer, which undergo additional processing, draught beer retains its freshness and unique flavour profile. While it cuts down on its shelf life, it is tastier and rich. 

Draught beer is the kind that is served straight from a faucet connected to a keg. Draught beer (pronounced “draft” and sometimes spelt so), while it is unpopular with Ugandans, is readily available on the market.

We have all seen those frosty chrome-plated Nile Breweries faucets in high-end pubs around the country. They dispense draught beer and true beer connoisseurs swear by them. Because, as the facts will show, draught beer tastes exactly how beer should taste.

The one most pronounced difference between draught beer and bottled beer is that the latter is extra processed for long shelf life while the former is not. For that reason, draught beer tends to taste fresher and better than bottled beer. In fact some experts go as far as saying that bottled beer is no comparison to draught beer. 

“Bottled beer is better than no beer, but is just not in the same league [as draught beer]. The bottled beer is “dead” having been heat treated, and artificially gassed-up, making it more like a soda, than beer,” one beer connoisseur writes in one online forum.

Unlike bottled beer, draught beer is neither pasteurised nor filtered. Unlike bottled or canned beer, which undergo additional processing, draft beer retains its freshness and unique flavour profile. 

This lack of processing may cut down on its shelf life but it more than makes it up in taste and richness.

Draught beer can only last four days once the seal on the keg has been broken according to an expert at one of the Nile Breweries. That is why those draught faucets can only be seen in high traffic bars, those that are able to sell the 30-litre-keg in less than four days. Because the breweries want to avoid making losses in returned expired kegs.

Why kafundas don’t serve draft beer

It is this avoidance of losses that makes draught beer inaccessible in your local kafunda even when it is much cheaper than bottled beer. Most kafundas are generally not high-traffic and to make matters more complicated, draught beer has failed to catch on with Ugandans.

It is highly conceivable that the main reason draught beer has refused to catch on is the same reason Ugandans insist on physically seeing you pop the bottle top off or they won’t drink it. Ugandans don’t trust anyone with their drink, because, you know, witchcraft is real.

Even if a particular kafunda has the kind of traffic that can consume a 30-litre-keg in less than four days, most of the patrons still steer away from draught beer in favour of bottled beer.

The only kafundas I have seen selling draught beer in Kampala are Eritrean pubs around Ggaba road. As it turns out, Eritreans love draught beer traditionally. They prefer it to bottled beer and the brewery couldn’t refuse repeated requests for it. 

Healthier?

Because it is not as fizzy as its bottled younger brother, draught beer doesn’t stretch out your belly as much as bottled beer. It’s just fresh beer with minimal processing and minimal gasses.

This may explain why true beer connoisseurs insist on pouring bottled beer in a glass before they can consume it. Pouring bottled beer into a glass, when done right, dispels much of the gasses and makes its reaction upon reach one’s stomach much less intense.

Served cold

Draught beer is always cold because the system is designed in such a way that as the beer leaves the keg towards the faucet, it passes through a special cooler in between.

This is why the faucets are always dripping with frost. Beer has always tasted better chilled, just like tea has always tasted better hot. It is what it is. But some people (Kenyans and middle-aged Bakiga men) insist on warm beer. But modern draft beer is served chilled because that is how the system is built.

Like fresh juice

Comparing draft beer to bottled beer is like comparing fresh juice to packaged juice. We all know which one would be preferred by most people. But somehow this has not worked in the case of the bitter stuff.

Because Ugandans feel a sense of safety in seeing the bottle top securely on their beer before it comes off as they are watching, just in case. The only way to be sure is to walk up to the faucet for every refill.

Cheaper

Draught beer, on top of being tastier, is a much more affordable option. The other day, I was walking down the streets of Kansanga and saw an Eritrean kafunda with draught beer. When I ordered for a pint, I was shocked that, in 2025, I could drink a beer at Shs Shs2,500. Who doesn’t want cheaper, better beer?