A beer tap is a valve , specifically a tap , for controlling the release of beer . While other kinds of tap may be called faucet , valve or spigot , the use of tap for beer is almost universal . The word was originally coined for the wooden valve in traditional barrels . Beer served from a tap is largely known as draught beer , though beer served from a cask is more commonly called cask ale , while beer from a keg may specifically be called keg beer . Beer taps can be also used to serve similar drinks like cider or long drinks .
20-397: A military tattoo is a performance of music or display of armed forces in general. The term comes from the early 17th-century Dutch phrase doe den tap toe (Dutch for "turn off the tap "), a signal sounded by drummers or trumpeters to instruct innkeepers near military garrisons to stop serving beer and for soldiers to return to their barracks and is unrelated to the ink tattoo that
40-416: A taproot , from which the name derived. The word was originally coined for the wooden valve in traditional barrels . Beer supplied in kegs is served with the aid of external pressure from a cylinder of carbon dioxide (or occasionally nitrogen ) which forces the beer out of the keg and up a narrow tube to the bar. At the end of this tube is a valve built into a fixture (usually somewhat decorative) on
60-422: A federal army, consisting mostly of Protestant German, Scottish, English and Swiss mercenaries, but commanded by a Dutch officer corps. Drummers from the garrison were sent out into the towns at 21:30 hrs (9:30 pm) each evening to inform the soldiers that it was time to return to barracks and the innkeepers that no more beer was to be served, that the taps were to be closed. The drummers continued to play until
80-442: A means of supplying it. The typical "picnic tap" uses a hand pump to push air into the keg; this will cause the beer to spoil faster but is perfectly acceptable if the entire keg will be consumed in a short time. Portable taps with small CO 2 cylinders are also available. Beers brewed and served by traditional methods, typically cask ale , do not use artificial gas. Taps for cask beer are simple on-off valves that are hammered into
100-511: Is commonly known. Common dispensing methods are the handpump , or "by gravity " direct from the cask. Electric pumps are occasionally seen, especially in the Midlands and Scotland . Water pumps, powered by mains water pressure, were the traditional means of dispensing draught beer in Scotland but this method is discontinued. A cask breather works by adding carbon dioxide into the cask to replace
120-453: Is lost during filtration so filtered beer has to be artificially re-carbonated. This can make the beer very 'gassy'. Because the yeast is still present and alive in real ale, a slow process of secondary fermentation continues in the cask or bottle on the way to the consumer, allowing the beer to retain its natural carbonation. Another distinction is that real ale should be served without the aid of added carbon dioxide , or "top pressure" as it
140-502: Is regarded as inferior by many beer drinkers. The Aitken fount variety is still in use in several Edinburgh pubs but there were other designs. Typical tap handles are 9-13" tall, but can range from very short (4") to novelty lengths (>13"). Most taps are assembled with a 4" delrin handle. The threading for tap handles is 3/8"-16 UNC (coarse). The faucet is male and the handle is female. [REDACTED] Media related to Beer taps at Wikimedia Commons Cask ale Real ale
160-407: Is that real ale is required to be unfiltered, unpasteurized and served either from a beer engine without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide, or via bottle conditioning. Real ale is not filtered and the yeast is still present and living in the container from which the real ale is served, although it will have settled to the bottom and is usually not poured into the glass. The natural carbon dioxide
180-555: Is the name coined by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) for beer that is "brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide ". Cask and bottle-conditioned beers are referred to as real ale by CAMRA, as both fit its description of beers served from a container in which they have undergone secondary fermentation. The fundamental distinctions between real and other ales
200-628: The First World War and the Second World War elaborate military tattoos were held in many towns and cities, with the largest held in Aldershot in the United Kingdom. Beer tap There are many different types and styles of beer or keg taps. Originally the word referred to a solid wood stopper used to plug the hole in a barrel, so as to contain the contents. The shape was identical to
220-560: The curfew at 22:00 hrs (10:00 pm). Tattoo, earlier spelled tap-too then taptoo, are alterations of the Dutch words tap toe , which have the same meaning. Taptoo was the earlier alteration of the phrase and was used in George Washington's papers in which he said:"In future the Reveille will beat at day-break; the troop at 8 in the morning; the retreat at sunset and taptoo at nine o'clock in
SECTION 10
#1733086297891240-407: The Dutch prefer a rather large amount of head on their beers. Sometimes, beer kegs designed to be connected to the above system are instead used on their own, perhaps at a party or outdoor event. In this case, a self-contained portable tap is required that allows beer to be served straight from the keg. Because the keg system uses pressure to force the beer up and out of the keg, these taps must have
260-556: The attention of the media in the UK. The term was coined in the 1970s, when there were very few independent breweries left, and most production had gone over to filtered and pasteurised ales served under carbon dioxide pressure ("keg beer"). Cask conditioned ale remains popular within the UK, particularly in traditional pubs. In 2019, 420 million pints of cask ale were sold in the UK, accounting for 13.5% of all pints. Cask ale has been described as 'Britain's National Drink', and its 'Britishness'
280-446: The bar. This is the beer tap and opening it with a small lever causes beer, pushed by the gas from the cylinder, to flow into the glass. Some view this system as disadvantageous as it produces a frothy head which must be left to subside before more beer can be added to the glass. Some manufacturers have tried to address this problem by producing a device which allows the beer to be poured from the bottom up. Some people, such as Germans and
300-533: The beer as it is drawn off, rather than allowing in air, thus extending the beer's saleable life. However, the added gas is not at the high pressure typical of keg beer . Before 2018, cask ales which were kept "fresh" by the use of a cask breather were not classified by CAMRA as real ale. In 2018, this policy was changed, allowing pubs using cask breathers to be listed in the Good Beer Guide . The expression "real ale" has been heavily promoted by CAMRA to attract
320-436: The beer was drawn from the barrel via air pressure generated by a water engine rather than by a pressurised artificial gas. Some pubs still dispense cask beer using this method (although the water engine will invariably have been replaced by an electric compressor) but is increasingly rare due to the perception that hand-pumps are the correct means by which to serve real ale, and to the potential for confusion with keg ale, which
340-421: The end of the cask (see keystone for details). When beer is served directly from the cask ("by gravity"), as at beer festivals and some pubs, it simply flows out of the tap and into the glass. When the cask is stored in the cellar and served from the bar, as in most pubs, the beer line is screwed onto the tap and the beer is pulled through it by a beer engine . The taps used are the same, and in beer-line setups
360-421: The evening." Over the years the process became more of a show and often included the playing of the first post at 21:30 hrs and the last post at 22:00. Bands and displays were included and shows were often conducted by floodlight or searchlight. Tattoos were commonplace in the late 19th century, with most military and garrison towns putting on some kind of show or entertainment during the summer months. Between
380-444: The first pint is often poured from the cask as for "gravity", for tasting, before the line is connected. Cask beer taps can be brass (now discouraged for fear of lead contamination), stainless steel, plastic, and wood. In Scotland , cask ale was traditionally served through a tall fount (pronounced "font"). These appear similar to keg taps (indeed, many Scottish pubs serve keg beer through adapted tall founts) rendered from brass but
400-779: Was borrowed from Tahitian. The tattoo was originally a form of military music but the practice has evolved into more elaborate shows involving theatrics and musical performances. It is also used to designate military exhibitions such as the Royal International Air Tattoo . The term dates from around 1600 during the Thirty Years' War in the Low Countries ( Belgium and the Netherlands ). The Dutch fortresses were garrisoned with mercenary troops who had been under federal command since 1594. The Dutch States Army had become
#890109