Cask Ale Tutorial
The condition of Cask Conditioned beer (Cask Ale, Real Ale),when dispensed will depend on the way it has been looked after in your cellar. When the beer is delivered it still has to go through its’ final fermentation and clarification by means of finnings, which have already been added in the brewery . While every…
Wherever possible casks must be stillaged (thrawled) (A stillage is any device on which a cask is placed for use, this may be a raised concrete area, a wooden or metal rack) on delivery. Casks should be stillaged level and firmly “scotched”(wooden wedges) to prevent movement If insufficient space is available to stillage a cask…
Cellar temperature is vitally important. If too warm (in excess of 60 deg F) a vigorous fermentation can be anticipated. Whilst if too cold (below 52 deg F) little fermentation will occur. Casks have to be spiled ( a small wooden Tapered peg )to enable control of the gas pressure in the cask. The sealing…
The recess in the Keystone plug must be wiped with a clean cloth before tapping with a clean and sterile cask tap. Casks should be tapped at the same time as they are spited if sufficient taps are available, or at least 48 hours before the beer is required for sale. The tap should be…
Cask Beer must always be examined for smell, taste and clarity before connection to the beer dispense equipment, preferably as soon as possible after the beer has had adequate time to fine out (become clear and fit for sale). If a beer engine is to be used to raise beer, the peg must be removed…
We haven’t really covered vertical extraction on here in any great detail yet. Perhaps if we go through a few pointers please feel free to add anything or if I have missed anything please add your comments below. Basically you use the same process to stillage vertically as you would with a container lying on…
Great care should be taken when tilting to avoid disturbing the beer. A cask should never be tilted until approximately one third of its contents have been used. The cask should be tilted by lifting the rear of the cask gently and sliding the scotches closer together, or by use of a tilting appliance. A…
Twin (or double) porous pegs are used in such a way that they eliminate the need for separate soft and hard pegs. Made of oak sap wood, they are in effect two pegs left attached to one another during manufacture, the result being a double length peg, which can be broken down into two pegs of…
