I was just commenting and surprised at the head on the pour *without* the sparkler. I imagine that has to do with the conditioning.
Possibly - A generosity on the priming sugars, or isinglass contributions + conditioning shortcuts could be at play. In any case, the characteristics were more alive/expressive here than the packaged/shelved representation(s)...if that helps
Drank Doom Bar on a trip through Cornwall many years ago, when Sharps was a small independent brewery. I remember it as wonder hop florward real ale. But had a pint in York during September and it had become a malt forward beer. Things change.
I agree that it's not best practice for sanitary reasons. The more "touches" the faucet gets, the higher the chance for contamination. Maybe not a common occurrence but best to avoid risk. My first drinking experiences were in Oregon in the late 60s. For health reasons, the state prohibited the bartender from refilling unwashed glasses at the tap. According to Ron Pattinson, some British pubs in the distant past would siphon the overpours, and possibly beer from returned partly full glasses, to the "mild" cask for re-dispense. That was recycling with a vengeance.
Yes, Ron was a big fan of Tetley’s Mild as served on handpump that was accompanied with an “economiser”: “When I took my first sip, I understood why customers had wanted the handpulls retained. It tasted like a completely different beer - and a much better one - than the electric-pumped version. Not surprising really, as this was how Tetley's was made to be served - through a handpump with an economiser. The texture, head and flavour were all so much better. I was sold.” https://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/search?q=cask+mild As I understand the operation of the “economiser”, somehow the beer from the cask is intermixed with the ‘extra’ spilled beer to fill the pint. If you have a differing understanding, to quote Ross Perot “I am all ears”. Cheers!
‘Drip Back’ – Ron discusses this here (also linked in the OP): Shut up about Barclay Perkins: Favourite places to drink (part two) + Additional Source: drip back | Craft Beer & Brewing (beerandbrewing.com)
It is definitely a case of better distribution. The UK’s pubs are now dominated by chains – not branded chains in the US sense, but chains of a sort nonetheless. These chains prefer to do business with large brewers that can give them volume discounts. Molson Coors, the makers of Doom Bar, also have the leading light lager brand, Carling, so they are already present in a huge number of pubs. (They have recently used this market strength to launch an entirely new brand, Madri, which is suddenly everywhere although two years ago it didn't exist). Most of the top ten are reasonably good beers, I’d happily drink them if kept in good condition. I would say that the tendency towards “safe”, well-known cask ale brands has strengthened since the pandemic. I see more Landlord than I did before.
Well conditioned cask ale will form a good head naturally without the use of a sparkler. Even in the UK many drinkers seem unable to understand this.
I saw that they had cask Celebration on, and was wondering if it aligned with your trip... then I realized it probably didn't. I missed it too. Went there last night (Monday) but it kicked on the weekend. What was extra neat is that they also had keg Celebration... so a drinker could have gotten a 4 oz pour of the kegged beer to try on the side. Did you also try the kegged Celebration there @M-Fox24 ?
This was – in part – an oversight; nonetheless, was mainly there to see how Celebration was treated/handled via engine, and how that transpired through the attachment. Admittedly, would have entertained the idea, if noticed earlier
And I wouldn't have entertained the idea of asking them to remove the sparkler since I never thought of it as an option. (I haven't done so yet though.) BTW, I had a small pour of the Dutchess Augur porter from cask there yesterday... which replaced the Celebration.
Introductory Notes: Pete Harkins is an advocate for Cask-conditioned ales: want’s to be known for the practice – temperature, water profile (minerals), balancing low abv…has been in talks to potentially host NERAX North --- Backbeat Massachusetts, USA 6xBeer Engines 3xActive Cask-conditioned English-Style Dark Mild: Beverly Proper (Collab w/ Wandering Soul & Gentile) Cask Tapped: Dec. 9th, 2022 Visit: Dec. 10th, 2022 ABV:3.8% Breather: No Sparkler: No Visuals: 4 --- Supplementary Data: BB hosts a quarterly cask event with Gentile, which entails conditioned firkins & pins -
Thanks for posting this. I’m there frequently and was just too lazy to post about them in this thread with pictures. @steveh you had questioned if the head on their Mild (this was awhile back) was from a sparkler. I took a pic and I think posted it, but this also shows there’s no sparkler used. These guys are an anomaly in this area. They sometimes have upwards of 5 casks running and they go through them too.
Good to know people are definitely into cask. I have plans to visit the local brewery that CCs this coming week. They also brew great lagers, so I'll have a big choice dilemma.
No, not so far, but they brew traditionally so I wouldn't be surprised if they kräusen, they just serve off a regular tap. Maybe I can plant a seed, they definitely like traditional steps.
