Ron, thanks for that input. A higher carbonation level would be complimentary with using a sparkler whilst pouring those beers. Cheers!
Primary fermentation in open fermenters may yield slightly lower levels of CO2 when ready for racking into casks, but the level of carbonation in any given cask is determined by the amount of fermentable sugars remaining in the beer combined with the amount of priming sugar/yeast to generate "cask conditioning." Open/Square fermentation is outstanding for producing esters and aromas that are distinctive, yet final levels of carbonation take place downstream.
The Shakespeare (Cask Marque = Proper Pub) New York, USA 3xBeer Engines 1xActive Cask-conditioned Cask Tapped: Nov. 9th, 2022 Pub Visit: Nov. 10th, 2022 English-style Pale Ale (ESB): Tavern Ale Brewery: Strong Rope Grains: Erie Canal Pale, Crystal, Buffalo Bitterless Hops: Columbia ABV: 5.2% Breather: No Sparkler: No Pictures: 6 --- Sidenote(s)/Background: SR is a NYS farm brewery that utilizes local ingredients to reinterpret the ‘classics’ – New York Craft Malt + The Bineyard (NY Hops) – The Shakespeare handled the outfit respectfully, given the temp + carb/feel SR hosts an annual Caskiversary (gravity-fed) with local establishments: Typically, February The Cask Marque Accreditation: ---
Fucking A, man. This thread makes me sad. So little cask options near me. It sucks. I need this in my life.
This is a bit off topic, but while Ron is with us…figured I share his recent thoughts on the US craft beer scene: Aside from that: Ron discusses the naming convention behind his blog, for those who don’t already know + the origins of barley wine via brett + Greene King + foreshadows the decline in pilsner + a discussion on “the brewers and beer professionals that came before us” Good Beer Matters Podcast: GBM 114 - Once Upon A Time In Beer, with Ron Pattinson on Apple Podcasts
Exactly, people who get it, i.e. old world styles that frankly those who ran the 2nd event have no hope of getting old world styles across, to that crowd it is boring grandpa beer, not the beer version of liquid panty remover. Same reason why most of brewers are going with trends and solid old world styles are passè. No idea how people have the stomach for some of these styles beyond a single serving. I feel the same about nitro, it's NOT for every style but go head and stunt beer that thing if you want to Jr.
I'd say close to 50% of my reviewed beers are cask conditioned. I would normally start with how the beer is served. In future I will try and remember to add if a sparkler is used. My most recent recent ale (Coyote from Wolf Brewery) a sparkler was used but was nevertheless very carbonated for cask dispensed. It's hazy look suggested to me that it may have been "over primed" in the cask.
For comparison, can you find it at another pub where it was handled by another cellar master? I remember trying the same cask ale brand on opposite sides of the street in London and the differences were amazing.
It was a guest beer at 'Spoons. So no. What I'm suggesting is that the carbonation of cask beer is a combination of a number of factors. The sparkler is just one of these. How the conditioned beer is dispensed is another. That's of the the wonder of cask.
That was meant like "preaching to the choir." Ron probably did the original research for most of those facts.
Beyond the aspect of carbonation, the factor that I found to be most influential in the qualities of a given cask beer is time: how long since the cask was tapped. During one of my visits to England I became a ‘regular’ at the Crown & Sceptre Pub. I enjoyed drinking the cask version of Bass they always had on tap there. During one visit I overheard the real regulars discuss how the Bass that day was very fresh (tapped just that day). I enjoyed drinking that beer on that ‘fresh’ day but when I came back the next day (i.e., 24+ hours after tapping) I enjoyed the cask Bass even more. The beer had ‘matured’ over that day post tapping and the following day (48+ hours after tapping) the beer was noticeably different as well (but still quite enjoyable to drink). The cellarperson at the pub plays an important role in the qualities of the cask beers since they are responsible for the ‘finishing’ operations and determinizing when a specific cask is ready to be served. I was fortunate that the cellarperson at the Crown & Sceptre Pub was very adept at what needed to be done with the cask beers. Cheers!
I completely concur. Peter Austin, founder of the Ringwood Brewery in Dorset, once opined that cask ale is "either great, or it ain't, and brewery/pub cellermen are the ones responsible." A tapped cask without the use of a cask breather will experience flavor and aroma changes over a 24-72 hour period that is often quite remarkable. Properly stored, vented, and tapped, real ale, together with rigorous cleaning and proper sanitation all make a difference in final taste and condition.
And further to that point the cask beer will change for the worse at around the 72 hour mark with less than pleasant off-flavors due to oxidation. A responsible pub will stop serving the beer at that point but I have on a hand full of occasions experienced cask beer that should not have been served since it was too old. Cheers!
I've got to believe that has played a big role in the hardship cask has faced in the US beer scene. Chicken and the egg kind of thing, you need a robust demand for cask ales to move through them before they lose their luster but you're having to drum up excitement among a generally unfamiliar consumer base which isn't easy to do on a tight timeline.
A solution to the shelf-life/oxidation challenge is for the retailer to install a cask breather. A craft beer bar near me used to sell cask beer (one beer engine) and they used a cask breather to maintain freshness. Even with this in place his sales were not robust and he finally decided to replace the beer engine with a regular tap (and regain robust sales). Craft beer consumers in the US generally are not fans of cask beer. I am fortunate that there are places near me that do provide beer on cask (e.g., Forest & Main with three beer engines, Troubles End with two beer engines, etc.) and I wonder how quickly they kick their cask beers as opposed to the other beers on tap. Cheers!
While we are talking about cask beer, at Yard's Brewing (Philadelphia) they are having their regular (annual) Real Ale Invitational today: https://yards.ticketleap.com/yards-2022-real-ale-invitational/ I am unable to attend today's event but in the past (pre-Covid) I attended many of these Yard's events. The last one I attended they had >60 casks available served via gravity pours with a number of those beer being from England (I was told they were flown in). I am quite sorry that I am missing today's event. Cheers to cask beers!!!!!
A local good beer bar used to have 2 beer engines going at once. They'd put new beers on every Friday and, most often, they'd be gone before Monday. Last time I was in there the hand pumps were gone. I guess the novelty wore off -- either for the breweries or the customers. However, my new local's tasting room is keeping 2 cask ales on tap regularly now -- and they're damn tasty.
