| "Real Ale is the Real Deal" By Gene Alstradt The opposite of real ale is not fake ale, though for the most avid aficionados that might be truer than they admit. Real ale is actually cask-conditioned beer, It is usually brewed from only traditional ingredients and allowed to mature naturally. The beer is always unfiltered and unpasteurised . It contains live yeast, which continues conditioning the beer in the cask. This process is called 'secondary fermentation'. This is the reason why real ale has a gentle, natural CO2 carbonation. Furthermore, the process allows the malt and hop flavours to more fully develop, resulting in a richer tasting drink with more character than standard keg ('brewery-conditioned') beers. Real ale is always served without any extraneous gas, usually by manually pulling it up from the cellar or cask with a hand pump (also known as a 'beer engine'). This was the time honored traditional way of brewing and serving beer for centuries. The filtered, pasteurised, chilled beer served by gas (commonly called "keg beer") which is normal today has only been the norm for just over 50 years. . Keg beers are generally sterile filtered and pasteurised as part of the brewing process. This kills the yeast, preventing any further conditioning, and the beer is then racked into sealed, gas-pressurised kegs. Such beers generally taste blander than their cask-conditioned counterparts, and the use of flash-chillers or cold rooms is standard as part of the serving process. In many common brands of keg beer, cheap ingredients ('adjuncts') such as rice or maize are mixed with the malt to cut costs. Unfortunately that results in a lighter beer with less than ideal aroma or flavour. It gets worse. The carbon dioxide gas that is used to dispense the beer gives it an unnaturally fizzy body. If the beer is moved through the tap lines with nitrogen (or mixed gas with a larger nitrogen ratio) you get a pint with an unnaturally smooth and creamy head - either way these beers may be refreshing but more often than not cannot match the full flavor of real ale. Of course there are many really great tasting ales which are 'keg' but they are usually from craft brewers and not their maco big brothers. One huge advantage keg beers have over cask conditioned beers is shelf life. Once tapped most real ales will only last for 3 to 5 days. eal ale will start to taste of vinegar (known as 'oxidising') if left in a part-full cask for too long. This is caused by acetic acid forming from a reaction with oxygen in the atmosphere. Serving real ales means more work for the bar. The casks have to be manually vented and tapped then left to settle. If this isn't done or the customer gets a cloudy pint due to the presence of yeast and protein. By the way, don't worry, it's harmless. Major breweries aren't interested in brewing or promoting cask-conditioned beer, as it would mean lower profits and more complicated operating practices; also, most bars aren't equipped to keep cask ales - not to mention it's essentially unknown to many beer drinkers. Still, both the US and Canada and seeing a surge in cask-conditioned beer in bars renowned for serving top quality and unusual beers. Some people new to real ale complain that it is "warm and flat". Not true. A cask ale is ideally served between 54-56 degrees - cool, but not chilled like keg beers - and should have a noticeable natural carbonation from the secondary fermentation in the cask. Look for the little bubbles which swirl around when you agitate your pint. If your cask ale actually is warm and flat then send it back. It means the pub didn't exercise proper quality control. However, anyone not used to real ale's true texture and correct serving temperature can easily get misled when sampling their first cask ale. The bottom line is that a well-kept pint of cask ale is cool, refreshing, and packed with malt and hop aroma and flavour. Certain bottled beers are also 'real ales' - called 'bottle-conditioned' as opposed to 'cask-conditioned'. In fact, bottle-conditioned beers are regularly produced by many American breweries - even one or two of the larger ones have one in their portfolio, sometimes as seasonal specials. With these, look for relevant wording on the label and a tell-tale layer of yeast sediment on the bottom of the bottle. Such beers should not be shaken or tipped upside down prior to pouring, and the last few drops are ideally not poured into the glass. You can do your part to promote cask ale. If you frequent a quality beer bar suggest the proprietor give it a try. In fact he doesn't actually need a beer engine to serve real ale. Cask conditioned ale can also be served with a stop-cock (gravity fed). While a beer engine draws the beer out of the cask gravity feeding simply lets gravity to push the beer out of the keg into the glass under its own weight. Don't worry gravity fed beer is the real deal. One thing for sure, no matter how it's dispensed, when you taste real ale you'll be tastin gthe freshest, most honest beer possible. |
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Introducing Cask Ale
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