The fruity character of a British yeast blends well in these beers. It also helps to use an authentic British ale yeast, and, if possible, open fermentation. The low carbonation, snappy hoppiness, and lower alcohol levels of the bitters make for a fantastic session beer, one that can be drunk for many 20-oz pints in one sitting. Real ales are usually much weaker in alcohol than the normal kegged ale from the United States: bitters are 3–3.8% (v/v), best bitters are 3.8–4.4% (v/v), and strong bitters are 4.5–6% (v/v). The Slovenian Styrian Goldings are also excellent. When making British-style real ales, use British hops like Goldings, Fuggles, Challenger, or Target. Also, use British or Belgian caramel malts, or even German caramel malts for that matter the fullness of the European and British caramel malts make a better real ale. If possible, use British pale ale malt for a fuller tasting ale. Although these alone are huge factors in successfully making real ales, I can add a few more suggestions. The brewing of real ale is not that different from what most home brewers already do: Use the freshest ingredients and serve the beer in a fresh state. It almost always has some form of cask finings added to precipitate proteins and yeast and leave the beer near “star brilliance.” Authentic cask ale is normally quite clear with no obvious yeast in suspension. By comparison, the typical kegged ale contains 2–2.7 volumes of CO 2, and German Weizens have 3 or more volumes of CO 2. It is of extremely low carbonation levels, typically between 1 and 1.5 volumes of CO 2. It undergoes secondary fermentation in the cask, and excess gas pressure is usually vented by means of a soft spile before dispensing. More specifically, traditional real ale is marked by the following characteristics: A better term for the common homebrewed variant, however, would be “keg conditioned” traditional real ale must meet more stringent guidelines.ĬAMRA defines real ale as beer made from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is to be served, and dispensed without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide. From this definition, most kegged homebrew qualifies as cask-conditioned.
The end result is in the pint, and both traditional and modern methods can produce astoundingly good pints of ale.Īt its simplest, real ale is an unfiltered ale that has had a degree of conditioning in the cask and is dispensed from this same cask into the consumer’s glass. The brewing community has enormous room for both schools of thought, and one should be careful not to disparage the other for their choices in these matters. Britain also hosts plenty of intelligent brewers whose primary concern is the end product, tradition be damned (or at least moderated). The hold-out traditionalists in Britain are best represented by members of Britain’s Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), a consumer organization that advocates adherence to uncompromising standards for the production and dispense of real ale. It dates back hundreds of years, long before pressurized tanks of carbon dioxide became the predominant method of dispense throughout the world.
Brew cask list professional#
Although this article is oriented to home brewers’ methods, it touches on concepts that can be of benefit to professional craft brewers as well.Ĭask-conditioned dispense of real ale is the traditional method of serving beer in the pubs of Britain.
This article covers some of the concepts and techniques involved in brewing, conditioning, and serving cask-conditioned ales, also known as real ales. You Don’t Have to be British to Produce Great Real Ale. « Back to Articles Cask Conditioning Ales at Home