Why is it called real ale?

Why is it called real ale?

Real ale is the name coined by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) in 1973 for a type of beer defined as "beer 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".

What makes a real ale?

Real ale is a 'living' product, which is typically produced and stored in a cask container. In comparison to other types of beer that kill off the yeast and artificially inject the beer with CO2 prior to serving, real ale contains live yeast which continues to condition and ferments the beer until it is served.

How does a cask work?

This is literally a faucet that is hammered into the cask through the keystone (hence the term tapping a keg). Once tapped, the beer is dispensed by gravity. As the beer flows, air is allowed to enter through the spile (a small wooden peg used to control the flow of air into, and carbon dioxide out of a cask).

How do you keep cask ale fresh?

Cask should always be kept cool. Ideal storage is at 12 deg C and below, preferably 9 – 10 deg C. Ideally cask beer should be consumed within 5 – 7 days. Dark, higher abv beers would keep better for longer possibly as much as 7 – 10 days. Remember the beer should simply not go off after this number of recommended days.

What is a cask used for?

Barrels have a variety of uses, including storage of liquids such as water and oil, fermenting wine, arrack, and sake, and maturing beverages such as wine, cognac, armagnac, sherry, port, whiskey, and beer. Other commodities once stored in wooden casks include gunpowder, meat, fish, paint, nails and tallow.

What does keg stand for?

KEG. Kids Entertainment Group. Business » Companies & Firms. Rate it: KEG.

How much does a barrel of beer cost?

Consider that the average cost for a standard half barrel keg of Budweiser is approximately $100. A standard keg contains 15.5 gallons, or 1,984 ounces. A case of Budweiser contains twenty-four 12oz. cans (288 total ounces) and costs about $23.

How much is a Polypin of beer?

An Adnams polypin ready for pouring" width="200" height="159" />If you're having a party and require more than a few cases of beer, then an Adnams Polypin may be just what you need. Our polypins contain 36 pints of fresh, cask beer – that's the equivalent of four of our 5-litre mini casks.

What is a Polypin?

A Polypin is a bag in box of Real Ale for you to enjoy at home, ideal for parties and special occasions.

How often should lager lines be cleaned?

If you are using your tap beer lines regularly, we advised cleaning your beer lines every two weeks. At a minimum you should clean your tap lines once every six weeks. Our recommendation is to clean and sanitize your tap lines between each keg you serve on your draft system to make life easier.

How do you pour a cask ale in a long spout?

LIVE beer is craft ale, conditioned in a key keg, gently sparkling and 100% awesome. Fermented without top pressure, then lightly centrifuged to remove hop debris the beer is packaged and allowed to ferment and condition inside the keg at our Ellon brewhouse, to ensure a perfect pint every time.

What does a sparkler do to beer?

Sparkler. A sparkler is a device that can be attached to the nozzle of a beer engine. Designed rather like a shower-head, beer dispensed through a sparkler becomes aerated and frothy which results in a noticeable head.

How much is a cask of ale?

A party pack is either a firkin (approx 70 pints) or a pin (approx 35 pints) of Hammerpot award winning, handcrafted, cask conditioned beer. Your beer comes either as a standard cask or as 'bright' beer, ready to drink immediately.

How many gallons are in a cask?

A pin is a smaller cask size, essentially a half-firkin. It holds 4.5 imperial (UK) gallons, which is 5.4 US gallons, which ends up being approximately 43 16-ounce pints worth of beer.

What is Cask Marque?

The 'Cask Marque' is an award for pubs which serve great quality cask ale. Cask Marque is an independent company funded by brewers, pub groups and trade bodies (see below) with the aim of improving beer quality through an accreditation scheme.

How big is a cask of ale?

The beer or ale firkin was redefined to be 9 imperial gallons in 1824. It is therefore exactly 40.91481 litres or approximately 1.445 cubic feet. Most English cask conditioned beer bought by publicans is delivered in 72 pint containers (i.e.

How long does a keg of lager last once opened?

How long does a keg of lager last once opened? Once opened, try to sell keg ales within a week, quite simply they don't taste as nice after that. Once you start to introduce bottle gas into the keg, that starts to absorb into the liquid. Co2 isn't as pure out of the bottle as it is in the brewing process.

How do you pour a keg of beer?

When you turn the tap on, make sure you're holding the glass at a 45° angle. Once you turn the tap on and the beer is flowing, make sure the stream of beer always hits the slope in the middle of your glass. Hold your glass at this position until is is approximately half-full.

How many beers are in a cask?

Consider getting a full keg / half barrel (165 12oz beers).

Can I pitch yeast at 80 degrees?

For an ale yeast, the ideal temperature for pitching and for fermentation is absolutely below 80°F degrees Fahrenheit, and for most ale yeast strains, the ideal temperature is closer to 68°F. … Many of you are probably thinking, “I've pitched beer at 85°F before and fermented beer. I drank it.

What effect does secondary fermentation have on cask ale?

The residual yeast that is left in the beer after it is transferred to the cask will continue changing the sugars into alcohol and produce carbon dioxide. The process usually reduces the final gravity and this causes a slight increase, say 0.1% ABV, in alcoholic strength.

What does bright beer mean?

Bright beer is beer in which yeast is no longer in suspension. There are several methods used for clearing yeast from beer, from waiting for the yeast to drop of its own accord ("dropping bright") to filtering it.

What is a Tap and Spile?

The Tap & Spile is situated by the canal and dates back to 1821. There is the main entrance on Gas Street and another one on the canalside. The interior is one that is simple and wooden. The beer range tends to be from large regional breweries. It is known to stay open very late.

Is cask ale artificially carbonated?

Cask conditioned ale undergoes a secondary fermentation inside the cask. This allows the beer to naturally develop carbonation, as opposed to keg beer which has been filtered and force-carbonated and must be dispensed using additional gas to restore the fizz.

How long does a barrel of beer last?

If refrigerated within a kegerator that uses CO2, a keg will generally last at least 6-8 weeks before it starts to lose its fresh taste. If you store it at the appropriate temperatures, pasteurized beer will last you at least three months, sometimes as long as six months. Unpasteurized beer will only last two months.

Does Real Ale go off?

Bottled Ale should be ok, perhaps not at its best but should still be ok. Cask Ale goes off very quickly when opened, about 3 – 4 days and is usually rank very soon after its best before date. I'm drinking it now and it's absolutely gorgeous.

How do you clean Real Ale lines?

In the bar pull the water through until you get the line cleaner through. Pull a further 5 pints of beer line cleaner and allow to soak for at least 20 minutes. Pull through another 5 pints of beer line cleaner and allow to soak for another 10 minutes. Pull another 5 pints of beer line cleaner through.

What temperature should cask ale be served at?

The recommended dispense temperature of the majority of brewers is between 11 – 13°C. Cask Marque audits to a required range of 10-14°C allowing a little leeway. Some cask ales are meant to be dispensed at lower temperatures, particularly summer beers.

Is keg beer filtered and pasteurized?

For the most part keg beer brewed and packaged in kegs in the U.S. is not pasteurized. During the packaging process non-pasteurized draft beers are sterile filtered and chilled to the point that any surviving bacteria, which could ferment the beer, become dormant.