Glossary
Draught
Beer served from a cask or keg rather than from a bottle or can. Spelled "draught" in British usage and "draft" in American.
Pronounced draft.
Also called draft, on draught, on tap.
Draught means beer served from a bulk container rather than from a bottle or can — a cask, a keg or a tank — and drawn at the point of service. It says nothing about how the beer was made.
That is worth stating plainly because draught is routinely read as a quality claim. What it actually changes is carbonation, temperature and freshness at the moment of pouring, all of which are real and none of which are guaranteed. A badly kept cask is worse than a good can.
The American spelling is draft; they are the same word.
Commonly misunderstood
"Draught" on a can or bottle is a marketing claim about the intended character or a widget, not a statement that the beer came from a keg.
Related
More vocabulary
Beer-clean glass · Brewer’s barrel · Cask · Cellar conditioning · Crowler · Firkin · Growler · Imperial pint · Keg · KeyKeg
See every term on the glossary index.
Last reviewed 2026-08-16.