I have been around beer for a long time. I have judged it, sampled it, quaffed it, paired it, compared it, even dumped it occasionally. I have definitely been brewing it for 20 years. But this week I learned something.I learned first hand – in a clearer way than I think I have experienced before – how subtle changes in processing, packaging and serving can fundamentally alter a beer’s presentation.

I’ve always kind of known that, and have experienced something like it before – anyone who has had a cask version of a familiar beer knows all about this. But I think I have seen the most drastic example of beer mutability in my years of beer drinking.

The other night was the monthly cask ale event at Sugar Bowl, where this month Alley Kat offered up their 15th Anniversary Apple Wit with some fresh cinnamon added to the cask. It was very well received. I, too, enjoyed it immensely, but what struck me the most was how different it was from the other two versions of the exact same beer I had sampled just days earlier.

And that is what I really want to talk about. I mentioned my experience of the first two in a post a few days ago. So, allow me to summarize:

Sample #1: From the conditioning tank. Crisp, clean and BIG apple aroma and flavour. Almost like a cider, only rounder and less acidic. Quite bright and surprisingly clear. Obviously no head (due to lack of carbonation). Not a lot of wit characteristic. Could have easily been a wheat beer with apple additions. This version really stood out as a unique flavour, similar to their Ginger Ale a few months ago.

Sample #2: Freshly bottle-conditioned in intended 650 ml bottle. Much drier and spicier. The apple character dropped away significantly with some drawing out of subtle Belgian yeast notes. The beer was noticeably hazy with a fluffy white head. This version reminded me of Unibroue’s Ephemere. I remember wondering where the apple went during carbonation.

Sample #3: Cask conditioned with addition of 4 tablespoons of ground cinnamon. The cloudiest of the three beer (not surprising), with a strong cinnamon aroma and a crisp apple pie quality. Cinnamon was more balanced in the flavour, offering a lingering powdery-ness on the roof of the mouth. This time the spice drops away, leaving more wheat malt and a vague apple character – not strong enough to be described as a flavour, but sufficient to alter the beer. It may be my favourite of the three.

All that differs between the three (aside from carbonation levels and the addition of cinnamon in the one) is how they are served. The first was the most unadulterated. Fresh and cold with no carbonic acid to sharpen the tongue. Add some revived yeast in the bottle – which also served to scavenge leftover sugars to dry out the beer – and you get more Belgian character and an erasing of the apple. Finally, add a touch of spice and the beer takes on a whole new profile, more complex and subtle.

What do I learn from this? It reminds me that beer is a living creature, sensitive to how it is treated. Ship a beer halfway around the world, there is NO WAY you are going to get the same beer (sample some Heineken from the brewery in Amsterdam if you want an example). On tap vs. in the bottle – a whole different experience. Pasteurize it, and you take away more than the last, hardy cells of yeast – you also remove some flavour. Even filtering (which most breweries do) alters the final taste of the beer.

Why should you care? Well, maybe you shouldn’t. But I do. And if you like trying new beer and enjoy seeking out never-before tasted (at least by you) beer from around the world, you would be served well to remember this post. Does that Australian ale seem flat and uninspired? It might be. Or it might be suffering from travel fatigue. Does fill-in-the-blank local beer turn you off in the bottle? Give it a shot on tap – it will be a different beer, regardless of the fact it might even be the same bloody batch.

Where, when and how we serve beer makes a difference. The latest monthly cask night reminded me of that. One good reason to make sure I keep going back each month – the third Thursday of each month, for those of you keeping score.

Don’t believe me? Try it yourself. Get a beer served in two or three different ways, and I defy you to tell me they taste the same.