wrote:
> Can someone explain to me what exactly nitro means. Are they
injecting
> nitrogen into the beer?

basically, yes, the beer is driven to the bar using a mix of nitrogen &
C02, both are dissolved into the beer, AFAIK Guinness invented it (&
other Stout brewers followed suit.

In the 1990s, in the UK at least, nitrokeg ales such as Boddingtons,
Caffreys & John Smith's cropped up with terms such as creamflow,
smoothflow, etc, but they were simply fairly dull ales served in this
manner.

> How is it different from the same beer "on tap"?

Well, they're both "on tap", but the nitrogen helps to form a lasting
creamy head, and as less C02 is present, the beer might not have the
"bite" that C02 alone can give & it should feel less gassy than if it
was just served under C02 alone (the normal method of dispense for keg
beer).

IMO some beers suit nitro better than others - stout does just seem to
work, but otherwise I'm not a big fan of nitrobeers, it seems to deaden
the flavour & the creamy mouthfeel is a bit of a one-trick pony.

Though I am curious to try some decent beers in nitro form for
comparison, I can only think of 1 or 2 UK craft-brewers that do
nitrokeg their stout or any beers. This is probably down to the
peculiarities of the UK pub beer market where almost all of the
domestic-brewed quality beer is served as cask beer.

> Why does the same beer taste so much better when its on tap as
compared
> to bottled? is it a freshness thing?

yes, probably - most bottled beer has gone thru more processing than
draft/draught beer (filtering, pasteurisation, etc) & possibly been
hanging around longer too (I've heard over here that supermarkets have
asked for 15 & 18 months shelf-life, many beers are not going to be
tip-top by then)

> Thanks for all the helpful (and even not so helpful) answers
everyone.
> drinkin oatmeal stout

had some great cask beers this week, including a top-notch stout from
E&S, Yorkshire; at one of UK's best beer pubs, Ship & Mitre, Dale
Street, Liverpool (www.shipandmitre.co.uk - I think)
cheers,
MikeMcG.