UK beer scene

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Message tommann P beers 7123 º places 33 º 11:56 Thu 9/16/2010 Off fown the local soon for a session on Banks’s Bitter. Just bought a house a 3 minute walk from the Bathams brewery, the Bull and Bladder. Can’t wait for that.
Message InvalidStout 12:05 Thu 9/16/2010 Originally posted by cgarvieuk Originally posted by SilkTork I don’t want a quality keg revolution. I want a quality cask revolution. here here. my problem with Keg is most are too fizzy for me. Im really not fond of fizzy beer. The odd thing is that keg advocates used to argue that CO2 pressure didn’t make beer any fizzier unless misused. Now they argue that the higher carbonation is a good thing. In any case I don’t see any reason why higher carbonation and keg should necessarily go hand in hand. Surely they are separate issues?
Message cgarvieuk P beers 37620 º places 457 º 12:14 Thu 9/16/2010 Originally posted by InvalidStout Originally posted by cgarvieuk Originally posted by SilkTork I don’t want a quality keg revolution. I want a quality cask revolution. here here. my problem with Keg is most are too fizzy for me. Im really not fond of fizzy beer. The odd thing is that keg advocates used to argue that CO2 pressure didn’t make beer any fizzier unless misused. Now they argue that the higher carbonation is a good thing. In any case I don’t see any reason why higher carbonation and keg should necessarily go hand in hand. Surely they are separate issues? they are. but they often go side by side. most US keg beers way to fizzy. sometimes to the point of ruining a tastybeer. and the Brewdog kegs ive had have on the whole have been too fizzy (for me) as well

Message AndrewC beers 407 º places 1 º 12:15 Thu 9/16/2010 Originally posted by InvalidStout I don’t see any reason why higher carbonation and keg should necessarily go hand in hand. Surely they are separate issues? What’s the difference between blanket pressure keg and blanket pressure cask in terms of the beer’s longevity? I know CAMRA don’t like cask beer under blanket pressure because the Romans didn’t do it that way or something. I’m being flippant. ...but still, I bet 80% of the cask I drink is actually under blanket pressure. I bet it’s only when the CAMRA rep comes round that the average landlord nips down the cellar and starts doing it like the Romans.
Message AndrewC beers 407 º places 1 º 12:16 Thu 9/16/2010 Originally posted by tommann Off fown the local soon for a session on Banks’s Bitter. Just bought a house a 3 minute walk from the Bathams brewery, the Bull and Bladder. Can’t wait for that. Ah Banks’s Bitter! I’ve got a bottle of it in the kitchen right now. It’s at Aldi for 99p at the moment too!
Message tommann P beers 7123 º places 33 º 12:36 Thu 9/16/2010 Originally posted by AndrewC Originally posted by tommann Off fown the local soon for a session on Banks’s Bitter. Just bought a house a 3 minute walk from the Bathams brewery, the Bull and Bladder. Can’t wait for that. Ah Banks’s Bitter! I’ve got a bottle of it in the kitchen right now. It’s at Aldi for 99p at the moment too! In bottles is so much better then the cans. The poor cask ratings upset me as I know how good it can be when kept properly!
Message InvalidStout 17:10 Thu 9/16/2010 Originally posted by AndrewC Originally posted by InvalidStout I don’t see any reason why higher carbonation and keg should necessarily go hand in hand. Surely they are separate issues? What’s the difference between blanket pressure keg and blanket pressure cask in terms of the beer’s longevity? I know CAMRA don’t like cask beer under blanket pressure because the Romans didn’t do it that way or something. I’m being flippant. ...but still, I bet 80% of the cask I drink is actually under blanket pressure. I bet it’s only when the CAMRA rep comes round that the average landlord nips down the cellar and starts doing it like the Romans. CAMRA don’t inspect cellars as far as I know. In most of the pubs I drink in I don’t think they need blanket pressure/race spiles/cask breathers because they go through a firkin in less than a day anyway. Pubs that don’t sell much cask generally also sell boring cask, and frankly with the price of beer nowadays I’m not spending my money on the boring stuff.

Message SamGamgee P beers 2452 º places 182 º 19:14 Thu 9/16/2010 Originally posted by SilkTork Originally posted by wheresthepath I’ve always tended to think of US beers being hop-dominated, UK beers being malt dominated and Belgian beers being dominated by great yeasts. I tend to think along the same lines, though I think the UK also has a relationship with yeasts and fermentation techniques that the US breweries have yet to acquire. I can’t remember drinking any American beer with character - impact, yes, drinkability, yes, but character, no. The malt profile tends to be clean and neutral - sweet and juicy at times, yes, but without anywhere near the variety and interest that UK breweries achieve. Even home brewers from what I understand are terrified of open fermentation. I have never quite understood the term "craft brewing" that Americans use, as my impression of American brewing, both home and commercial, is that it is fairly industrialised, following precise methods and procedures, and being fairly nervous of going outside prescribed lines. The more organic method of trusting to nature, and of letting things happen to see what results, and of incremental crafting, which is second nature to European brewers, seems to be unusual among American brewers who prize consistency and cloning and hitting a style over the the sloppy, eccentric European approach. Crafting to me is where things are made by hand and each product is unique. Until American brewers fully understand and embrace cask conditioning and natural carbonation, then the real notion of craft brewing is being slightly missed. I suppose each place will brew to their strengths - USA has hops, Europe has varied brewing traditions, yeasts, and malts. What is interesting is when these strengths are merged, so European brewers use American hops and some recipe ideas, and American brewers step out from behind the shield of science and allow nature into the brewing process. I know this is getting off topic, but I think you seriously misunderstand the American homebrew scene and even American brewing in general. American hombrewers are the most adventurous and interesting brewers in the world. I challenge you to point out any other group that compares. And this business about fearing nature? Can you elaborate on this, because as I read it, it makes me want to think that you don’t understand how brewing works, which I don’t think is true given how knowledgeable that I know you are from my time here.
Message MagicDave6 P beers 1 º places 1 º 23:36 Thu 9/16/2010 Originally posted by AndrewC Originally posted by InvalidStout I don’t see any reason why higher carbonation and keg should necessarily go hand in hand. Surely they are separate issues? What’s the difference between blanket pressure keg and blanket pressure cask in terms of the beer’s longevity? I know CAMRA don’t like cask beer under blanket pressure because the Romans didn’t do it that way or something. I’m being flippant. ...but still, I bet 80% of the cask I drink is actually under blanket pressure. I bet it’s only when the CAMRA rep comes round that the average landlord nips down the cellar and starts doing it like the Romans. No no, iv never came across anywhere that even used cask breathers never mind pressure the casks. Infact i dont think theres a system out there to do it anymore, if there ever was one. About 50% of pubs though will use additional vacume pumps to aid the beer engine to get the beer from the cask to the bar.
Message harrisoni P beers 25356 º places 68 º 01:26 Fri 9/17/2010 Originally posted by InvalidStout In any case I don’t see any reason why higher carbonation and keg should necessarily go hand in hand. Surely they are separate issues? Most beers in keg are dispensed from the keg using CO2 to force the beer out of the keg and through the tap. Doesn’t the beer absorb some of the CO2 and therefore you get some carbonic acid taste to the beer? Yes, you get more bubbles that help with the perceived crispness of the beer, but this takes away from the flavour and also the carbonation can add quite a harsh mouthfeel. It depends on how you dispense the beer out of the keg. At CAMRA festivals, because they don’t allow CO2 forced presssure to dispense the beer, you get kegs of German, Dutch and Belgian beer with a weird air pump contraption attached to the top of the keg to dispense the beer. Plus you won’t get the same amount of secondary fermentation in a keg that you will in a cask, forming a "natural" carbonation within the beer. That’s why casks need to be racked,vented and tapped correctly in order to deliver that beautiful pint of perfectly conditioned cask beer. The Struise idea of using key kegs, one off use containers seems a good middle way. The beer, with some extra yeast pitched into the beer, is filled into a non-contaminating inner container. This then sits inside a strong cardboard outer container. You then use compressed air or water or anything else really to pump into the gap between the inner and outer container to force the beer out of the keg tap. In that way no forced carbonation touches the beer, plus you can still have beer with some secondary fermentation going on in the key keg getting up to the same pressure you would in a UK cask beer. You could also attach a traditional hand pull beer engine to the key keg to dispense the beer too.