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Real Ale at GreatBritishBeer.co.uk

Traditional cask conditioned 'real-ale' is as much a part of British heritage as Fish and Chips or London Double Decker Buses, but what is Cask Conditioning and why is it special?

What is Real Ale
Cask conditioned beer or Real Ale is brewed from traditional ingredients and allowed to mature naturally in the barrel or cask in the pub cellar.

It can do this because the beer in the cask contains live yeast which continues to condition the beer and create characteristic flavours right up until it is served as a pint in the pub.

This cask conditioning with live yeast results in a richer tasting drink with much more character than keg beers.

What's wrong with keg beer
Keg beers including the nitro-keg variants are pasteurised at the brewery. This kills off the yeast and prevents any conditioning in the cask.

The beer tastes bland when served, beer chillers are regularly used to disguise the lack of taste. Gas is used to pressurise the keg which can lead to excessively fizzy beer or in the case of nitro-keg beer a creamy pint whose taste does not come up to the expectation of the head.

Keep Ale Real with CAMRA
For more information on Real Ale and Traditional Cask Conditioned beer visit the Campaign For Real Ale website at www.camra.org.uk