Real ale

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Image:Real Ale 2004-05-09 cropped.jpg

Real ale is the name CAMRA (the CAMpaign for Real Ale) coined for a type of beer defined as “beer brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide.”

Contents 1 Cask ale 2 Filtered beer 3 CAMRA 4 See also 5 External links

Cask ale

Cask ale or bottle conditioned beers are sometimes referred to as real ales, though by the terms of CAMRA's definition not all cask or bottle conditioned ales are real ale; in particular, some American style brewpubs may use collected carbon dioxide during the serving process which would disqualify them from the claim to real ale status.

Filtered beer

Template:Main The fundamental distinction between real and other ales is that the yeast is still present and living in the container from which the real ale is served, although it will have settled to the bottom and is usually not poured into the glass. Because the yeast is still alive, a slow process of fermentation continues in the cask or bottle on the way to the consumer, allowing the beer to retain its freshness. Another distinction is that real ale should be served without the aid of added carbon dioxide, or top pressure as it is known. Common methods of dispense are the hand pump, or "by gravity", direct from the cask. Electric pumps are occasionally seen, especially in Scotland. Cask ales which are kept "fresh" by the use of a cask breather do not qualify as real ale.

CAMRA

The expression has been heavily promoted by CAMRA to catch the attention of the media in the UK since the 1970s when there were very few independent breweries left, and most production had gone over to filtered and pasteurised ales served under carbon dioxide pressure ("keg beer").

See also

• Cask ale
• Filtered beer
• Keg beer
• Draught beer
• CAMRA
• ginger ale

External links

• Beer Mad - Good starting point
• The Directory of UK Real Ale Breweries - Information on real ale brewers in the UK
• CAMRA's Good Beer Guide
• Brewin' Beagle North American distributer of real ale equipment; also lists real ale availability in the Midwest US.
• Photos of bottled beers - The nearest thing to real ale sold in UK supermarkets

no:Real ale de:Real Ale sv:Real ale