Yankee Brew News Archive

Pulling the Beer Fantastic: Cask-Conditioned Ales in New England

Originally Published: 03/95

By: Pete Langlois and Bob Gorman

A wonderful change is under way. Hand-pulled cask-conditioned ales are

popping up across New England. During treks to the past two AHA National Homebrew

Conferences and across the country, we've noticed the availability of

cask-conditioned hand-pulled beers. We enjoyed these beers tremendously and

kept saying to ourselves: New England is ready for hand-pulled beers in our local

beer bars; why don't they exist?

Granted the Commonwealth Brewing Company in Boston has been serving hand-pulled beers

since its opening, and over the past year or two other area brewpubs have

offered hand-pulled beers. But it's the fact that hand-pulled beers are now

showing up in bars and pubs that really has us excited.

In Great Britain, the production and consumption of fine ales is an art, and

almost a religion. Fine hand-crafted ales can be found at almost every

public house (pub). At these locations the ale-oriented visitor will almost

certainly notice a different kind of tap - one with a long handle that has to be

pumped, and a goose-neck spout that protrudes down into the glass being filled.

In the century past, these beers, or ales were often unique to an area

because transportation was slow, and the ales didn't tolerate changes in temperature

that were problematic before refrigeration. Local pubs carried a local

product, and proudly displayed the banners of the breweries they carried. Popular

products were consumed at a faster rate, and remained fresh. Communities

supported the breweries that could ship their products in a short period of

time.

Real ales (also known as cask-conditioned ales) are a rarity in the United

States today - compared to other ales and lagers. They have been almost

exclusively the domain of brewpubs, who have the temperature control and

serving capabilities needed to correctly cellar and serve a real ale.

The Big Differences

It's alive! When you buy a bottled beer on a store shelf, chances are

that the brewery has filtered out any active yeast culture. Brewers filter their

products to stop the fermentation of their beer, clarify it, lighten the

color, control flavor and alcohol content, and extend shelf life. A hand-pulled ale

usually contains the active yeast culture. That's because the yeast is used

to carbonate the ale while it is aged (conditioned) in the cask. If the yeast

was filtered out, the cask-conditioned ale would be flat.

Most breweries (those that don't produce cask- or bottle-conditioned beers) collect the carbon

dioxide gas produced during fermentation, and reintroduce a portion of it into their

products before bottling or kegging. A 'real ale' typically has a small

amount of yeast sediment at the bottom of the keg - but don't worry. Most of the

yeast is kept completely out of the tap, and what little there is provides a

terrific source of B vitamins.

This difference between alive and removed yeast has other implications. The

taste of a particular yeast makes a big difference in the taste of the final

product. In the last century, small breweries producing real ales chose

yeasts based on their taste, and the quantity of sugar they allowed to remain in

solution in the finished ale. Today, brewing larger quantities of

commercial beer requires a very high degree of consistency from one batch to another.

One method used to achieve similarity from batch to batch (in spite of small

differences in the quality of ingredients) is to remove the yeast. This

process regulates the level of malt sugar remaining in the beer. It means

that the commercial brewer doesn't need to select a yeast strain that will leave

sugars in the beer.

The Creamy Side of Life

Real ales are noted for their smooth, creamy consistency. This noticeable

difference in what beer judges call 'mouth feel' is attributable to several

factors. Because filtration removes complex proteins as well as the yeast,

the finished beer is actually thinner. Protein chains are useful to brewers

because they promote head retention. Secondly, the level of carbonation is

usually lower.

European visitors to America often note that the beer here

is 'gassed'. A high level of carbonation contributes to a 'picky' or 'prickly'

sensation as the beer crosses the tongue, due to the release of carbonation.

A less carbonated beer tends to feel more 'slick' in the mouth. Even the same

beer with a higher level of carbonation will taste noticeably different.

The reason beers are gassed is twofold. First, carbon dioxide inhibits

spoilage. Beer that's gassed can last a long time. Carbon dioxide is also

used to move the beer. Beer with less carbonation isn't pushed through the

line to the tap. Instead it is 'pulled' with a hand pump or 'beer engine'.

Keeping a real ale on tap, properly conditioned, and correctly served, is

not an easy task for many publicans (pub owners) according to Chris Lohring of

the Atlantic Coast Brewing Company. Atlantic Coast presently delivers cask

conditioned ale (Tremont Ale) to two Boston pubs; Doyle's Cafe in Jamaica Plain and

Cornwall's in Kenmore Square.

"Our intent was initially to do only cask-conditioned beer," states Chris.

"We soon found out that this would be difficult," Lohring continues. "The

problem was finding persons who were willing to take on the task. Finding a

suitable publican was the greatest challenge. There is a lot more to

tapping real ales than most beers."

Chris took a few moments to explain Atlantic Coast's production process, and

shed some light on the differences in handling cask-conditioned ales - from

the publican's point of view. On the supply side, Atlantic Coast ferments its

Tremont Ale for six to eight days with a Ringwood Yorkshire yeast in open

fermenters. Both the cask-conditioned and non-cask Tremont start as the same

ale. With the cask-conditioned product, there is no filtering and less

racking.

When the fermentation ends, Tremont cask-conditioned is put into

firkins. A firkin is a specially designed oval keg holding 9 Imperial

gallons (10.8 US gallons). Hops and finings (isinglass and alginex) are added, and

the firkin is "rolled around the brewery" to hydrate the hops and finings. The

firkins are conditioned for about 5 days at 50 to 55 degrees, at which time

the carbonation is just over 1 volume.

Cask and Spile

Because the yeast in a cask-conditioned ale is alive and active, the cask

needs to be kept at a temperature where the yeast is happy. Chris explains that

50 to 55 degrees is ideal, but some variation is usually unavoidable as most

tapped beers in the American market are served and stored at around 40

degrees. Keeping beers in good condition and ready to be served is a bit of an art

called cellaring.

Firkins have two openings that need to be addressed during tapping: the bung and the

keystone. At least a day prior to pulling the first ale, the bung is replaced with a

spile, essentially a vent at the top of the firkin. The day of lag time allows the finings,

yeast and hops to settle to the bottom of the firkin, which is not moved again before the first ale is

pulled. The keystone is a smaller version of the bung in plastic or stainless steel

and is the location where the ale exits the cask.

"You have to pour the first couple of pints," Chris relates. "There will be

some 'floaters,' and the beer needs to be bright." The ale needs to be

consumed in about 3 days ideally, promoting Atlantic Coast's twice a week

delivery schedule. A conversation with Chris really reveals his concern for

the way the product is pulled, cellared, and tapped. When it is done wrong,

the consumer just knows that the beer is bad - and doesn't usually begin to

know why. Chris would prefer that Tremont cask not be sold, than to have it

done poorly. Chris modestly adds, "We have a long way to go to meet CAMRA

(Campaign for Real Ale - a British beer consumer organization) standards."

Billy Burke is the beer manager turned cellarmaster at Doyle's Cafe which

has had Tremont on a hand-pulled tap for two months. He relates that things are going

well, but that the temperature of the cellar has been difficult to maintain. He

placed the firkins in an ice bath last fall, which was warmer than

usual.

He said the winter makes the firkins easier to handle.

"I took a few [ale] showers," Billy quips, referring to his first experiences

working with the bung and spile system. "It takes more work and planning. Sometimes

we have to pull a keg early so that we won't have to switch in the middle of a

Friday or Saturday night."

Doyle's has taken a significant risk in being the first non-brewpub to offer

a real ale in the Boston area. "The losses are heavier, up to a gallon can be

lost," Billy Burke estimates. "It's a novelty" he says, "but one that's

going well. We put up some table tents to show people what it is."

Come and get it

In greater Boston, several cask-conditioned ales are available on a hand-pulled

tap. At the Commonwealth Brewery, four ales of different varieties are available.

The 'Bitter' is a good example of a traditional bitter which is also known

as English Ordinary. This style of beer is described as follows in current

judging literature:

'Gold to copper in color. Low carbonation. Low

gravity/alcohol. Low maltiness. Hops dominate balance. Light to medium

body. Low to medium diacetyl OK. Fruitiness/esters OK. OG 1.034-1.039 IBU 20-40

Color 8-20 deg. L.'

The Commonwealth serves its bitter at an appropriate temperature (about 55 degrees F), and the ale is presented with an appropriate head.

As mentioned earlier, Doyle's features Tremont, and so does Cornwall's. At

Doyle's, Tremont is served in an appropriate pint glass. Tremont sampled

there has a fruity/estery quality, features the low carbonation appropriate to the

style, and has a beefy full body. Doyle's is looking fine, with a recently

refinished ceiling of ornamental character and a series of refreshed murals

spanning the length of the main dining area.

Boston Beer Works features a 'Bay State ESB'. During our sampling, it was

colder than it should have been, cloudy, and yeasty. The operator of the

hand pump didn't really understand how to use it, but picked up the technique

with a little coaching. Bay State was not very aromatic, and had little of the

characteristic mouthfeel for the style.

John Harvard's in Cambridge joins the ranks of the hand-pulled with a properly conditioned

brew with a meaty character and nice frothy head. The barkeep there pulled

two pints with authority. This was a fine ale, true to style, and the clearest

of all that were sampled.

There are now at least three breweries in New England producing

cask-conditioned ales for sale at pubs and restaurants, including:

Atlantic Coast Brewery, Charlestown, Massachusetts.

Although they sell regular ales as well, their whole intent behind opening

was to bring cask-conditioned beer back to Boston. Their hand-pulled products

can be found at Doyle's and Cornwall's, and are to arrive shortly at the Sunset

in Allston, Boodle's in Boston and Redbones in Cambridge.

Emerald Isle Brewing Company. West Warwick, Rhode Island.

This is another brewery dedicated to cask-conditioned brews. Availability

is growing throughout Rhode Island and their brews can currently be found at

the Twin Willows in Narragansett, Aiden's Pub in Bristol, and recently at the

Mews in Wakefield.

Kennebunkport Brewing Company, Kennebunk, Maine

We believe that the cask-conditioned product is brewed at their

new brewery, the Shipyard Brewery, in Portland, Maine.

Their brews are available at Federal Jack's in Kennebunk and The Great Lost

Bear in Portland. A research trip to Maine is currently in order.

It's becoming easier for restaurants and pubs to correctly serve real ales.

Hand pumps are available from England for about $300 new, and some may be as

low as $80 used. Beer 'saddles' that conduct coolant through a saddle-

shaped device draped over a firkin, can compensate for the lack of a proper cellar,

and are available for around $200. To improve the learning process, brewers

like Chris Lohring are willing to spend the time to teach methods for

properly cellaring and serving a cask-conditioned product.

With any kind of luck we'll see an explosion of beers of this style in New England.

Cheers!

Pete Langlois and Bob Gorman are award-winning homebrewers and members of the Boston Wort Processors homebrewing club.