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An Introduction To Cask Ale, January 2024 e-News

Beer Delivery Systems

It took until until the 17th century for bottled beer to become commonplace. Up until that time most beer was consumed by pouring it directly out of a cask. Along with advances in science in the later 19th century such as pasteurization and mechanical refrigeration the inevitable march towards tightly controlled, factory produced, mass made and marketed beer had begun. Filtering, pasteurizing, adding controlled amounts of carbon dioxide, and packaging in bottles eliminated the natural variability of cask beer, and the extra care that was needed to properly dispense it. Modern keg beer is identical to bottled beer except that …

An Introduction To Cask Ale, January 2024 e-News

Cask Dispensing

There are two ways of dispensing a cask beer: Gravity or pouring the beer directly out of the cask and pulling the beer out of the cask using a piston called a beer engine or hand pump (patented, 1785). The Old English word “draught” meant, “to pull,” like the draught horses that used to deliver beer casks back in the day and later pulling a pint from the cask. Etymologically speaking, keg beer is not draught as it is pushed to the tap faucet. A gravity dispensed cask beer is set on its side in a rack that is gently …

An Introduction To Beer

Macro vs. Micro

What is the big deal about a “microbrew,” isn’t beer all pretty much the same? Microbreweries (the little guys, however you want to define them) almost universally use craft brewing techniques. This is the traditional method of making beer in single batches. Each recipe is produced to maximize the desirable characteristics of one beer. On the other hand, macrobrewers (the globally present brand makers) almost always use high gravity brewing to produce their products. Although it may sound like work for NASA, the gravity that is referred to here is just another word for alcohol. In this process beer is …

An Introduction To Beer

Yeast

Yeast, although present in all fermented beverages, was not discovered until the 18th century. It is a member of the fungus family that, because of its cell-spliting capabilities, is self-reproducing. Yeast has a voracious appetite for sweet liquids and produces abundant quantities of alcohol (ethanol) and carbon dioxide (bubbles) as a waste product. There are limits to the amount of alcohol that certain yeast strains can tolerate without dying, hence one reason for the traditional difference in alcohol between beer and wine. In the not so distant past, drinking warm ale in cold weather was commonplace. Because all taverns had …

An Introduction To Beer

Water

Water, comprising about 96% of the final product, is a key ingredient. While some brewers like to evoke images of pristine glacier fed springs, effectively, water is an easy ingredient to modify by filtration (usually to remove chlorine) or the addition/subtraction of salts. Hard water tends to be more appropriate to ales while soft water compliments the subtler flavour profile of a lager. The early Egyptians drank their beer through reeds or tubes so they would not choke on the barley husks left in the unfiltered brew. Many of the ruling class had golden straws made for sipping their beer.

Beer School

Lesson 10: Hop Talk

There’s a lot of “hop talk” that gets thrown around when discussing beer. So, what’s the difference between dried hops and a dry hopped beer? And, are fresh hops and wet hops just two different names that mean the same? Dry Hopping & Dried Hops A common misconception is that dry hopping involves harvesting and drying hops, but dry hopping actually refers to a brewing process where additional hops are added during fermentation to enhance flavours and aromas of a beer. Dried hops, on the other hand, are hops that have been harvested and dried. After clearing the fields, hops …

An Introduction To Cask Ale, January 2024 e-News

Casks and Kegs

As with many traditional systems of measurement definitions of common terms such as barrel vary from country to country. When it comes to casks, British terminology seems to rule. The most common size of cask is a Firkin at 9 imperial gallons. The standard keg size at The Beer Store follows American traditions and is ½ barrel or 15 ½ US gallons (12.91 imperial gallons or 58.67 L). Cask sizes: Pin (4.5 gal.), Firkin (9.0 gal.), Kilderkin (18 gal.), Barrel (36 gal.), Hogshead (54 gal.), Butt (108 gal.), Tun (216 gal.).

Beer School

Lesson 9: Lagers vs. Ales

A lager is a light, crisp and refreshing beer. It’s fairly easy to taste the difference between a lager and ale, but what sets these two apart from a brewing perspective? The defining difference between lagers and ales is based on yeast strains, as well as length and temperature of fermentation. An ale uses a top fermenting strain of yeast called Saccharomyes cerviase and is produced at warm temperatures ranging between 18c and 23c. In a top fermenting beer, ale yeasts rise to the surface and produces beer high in esters, or fruity aromas. Lagers, on the other hand, use …

Beer School

Lesson 8: Et Tu IBU?

A contentious topic of conversation in the beer world is whether IBU ratings need to be accessible to the beer consumer. Many beer drinkers use the IBU scale as a reference tool, so they can judge the relative bitterness of a beer. On the other hand, most brewers argue against publishing IBUs, as they are often based on rough calculations and tell little about how bitter a beer will actually taste. An IBU or International Bitterness Unit is a gauge of a beer’s bitterness and is measured in parts per million of isohumulone (bitter alpha acids). The scale starts at …

Beer School

Lesson 7: For Every Beer, A Saison

Originating in Wallonia, Belgium, the saison is an elusive beer with a diverse history. Instead of pertaining to a specific flavour or brewing technique, a saison describes a loosely related family of beer. Historically, saisons are thought to date back to the start of agriculture when beer was brewed during colder months for consumption during the harvest season. They were rarely distributed outside of the immediate region and as a result, recipes varied greatly. Seasonal workers or les saisonniers were hired by farms to work as labourers over the busy summer months. Spending their days in the fields, farmhands needed …