Cask Conditoned Beer

[jknapp12105]

Hat exactly is Cask Conditioned and what is a good one to try

 

[Greenbasterd]

its beer aged in a cask. a good one to try is Innis & gunn 75day i think its called..

 

[Nugent]

It is a bit confusing. There is a cask conditioned beer and there is a cask finished beer.

Cask conditioned beer is one that is carbonated without additional CO2. It's put into a closed container, generally a stainless steel cask, and conditioned by the CO2 formed by the residual fermentation or additional 'sugar' is added to specifically add some carbonation to the beer. It's then served straight from the cask. Cask ale has a lower level of carbonation than forced carbonated beer. It's similar in process to bottle conditioning, but a different result. The beer is smooth and very flavourful. Very popular in the UK and increasingly popular in North America.

The issue with trying it is that it's served fresh and spoils after a few day of being tapped, since air is introduced into the cask rather than CO2 from a tank. So ... you'd have to go to a pub to get it; not many places in NA serve cask ale. The interwebs could tell you whether there are pubs that serve cask ale where you live.

The beer that greenbasterd is talking about is beer that is aged in an old whiskey or other type of liquor cask. It adds a character from the liquor that was in it or the oak of the cask. Innis and Gunn is a good choice.

 

[jknapp12105]

It is a bit confusing. There is a cask conditioned beer and there is a cask finished beer.

Cask conditioned beer is one that is carbonated without additional CO2. It's put into a closed container, generally a stainless steel cask, and conditioned by the CO2 formed by the residual fermentation or additional 'sugar' is added to specifically add some carbonation to the beer. It's then served straight from the cask. Cask ale has a lower level of carbonation than forced carbonated beer. It's similar in process to bottle conditioning, but a different result. The beer is smooth and very flavourful. Very popular in the UK and increasingly popular in North America.

The issue with trying it is that it's served fresh and spoils after a few day of being tapped, since air is introduced into the cask rather than CO2 from a tank. So ... you'd have to go to a pub to get it; not many places in NA serve cask ale. The interwebs could tell you whether there are pubs that serve cask ale where you live.

The beer that greenbasterd is talking about is beer that is aged in an old whiskey or other type of liquor cask. It adds a character from the liquor that was in it or the oak of the cask. Innis and Gunn is a good choice.

Thanks for the info!! Very knowledgeable.

 

[jknapp12105]

It is a bit confusing. There is a cask conditioned beer and there is a cask finished beer.

Cask conditioned beer is one that is carbonated without additional CO2. It's put into a closed container, generally a stainless steel cask, and conditioned by the CO2 formed by the residual fermentation or additional 'sugar' is added to specifically add some carbonation to the beer. It's then served straight from the cask. Cask ale has a lower level of carbonation than forced carbonated beer. It's similar in process to bottle conditioning, but a different result. The beer is smooth and very flavourful. Very popular in the UK and increasingly popular in North America.

The issue with trying it is that it's served fresh and spoils after a few day of being tapped, since air is introduced into the cask rather than CO2 from a tank. So ... you'd have to go to a pub to get it; not many places in NA serve cask ale. The interwebs could tell you whether there are pubs that serve cask ale where you live.

The beer that greenbasterd is talking about is beer that is aged in an old whiskey or other type of liquor cask. It adds a character from the liquor that was in it or the oak of the cask. Innis and Gunn is a good choice.

Thanks for the info! Very knowledgeable!

 

[jknapp12105]

How long do they usually let it sit to naturally carbonate? What makes it spoil? If your letting it naturally carbonate, I am sure it is longer then two weeks. After it naturally carbonates and it is ready to serve, do you keg it then immediately serve it?

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

How long do they usually let it sit to naturally carbonate? What makes it spoil? If your letting it naturally carbonate, I am sure it is longer then two weeks. After it naturally carbonates and it is ready to serve, do you keg it then immediately serve it?

It's served straight out of the cask. The beer is pumped out by regular air with a beer engine, which is basically a hand pump. Oxygen makes beer stale so whenever you tap a cask and start draining out the beer it starts coming in contact with oxygen and starts staling. After a few days the flavor changes in a bad way and you either have to finish the beer before that happens or dump the rest.

If you've ever used one of the picnic tap-style hand pumps on a sanke keg it's the same premise. Pump out some beer and let the keg sit for a few days and it gets stale.

 

[patto1ro]

How long do they usually let it sit to naturally carbonate? What makes it spoil? If your letting it naturally carbonate, I am sure it is longer then two weeks. After it naturally carbonates and it is ready to serve, do you keg it then immediately serve it?

After being racked, cask beer is sent to pubs pretty much immediately. Standard UK strength beers - 4% ABV or less - are sold within a week of racking. A few days in the brewery then a few in the pub to drop bright and condition.

If you keg it, then it's no longer cask beer. The point is to serve it with its natural carbonation.

 

[bk0]

There are kits you can buy that force CO2 into the cask when serving, so that oxygen never gets in. I don't think it's pressurized though, so the beer still goes flat even if it doesn't get stale.

 

[ghett0man]

So is it possible to cask condition and ale in a corny keg or commercial keg for a couple/few weeks, tap it, and introduce CO2 at the same time you tap it? I really wanna try this with a few gallons of an amber I have in secondary.

 

[MollyHatchet]

Cask conditioned is a style I am going to try to do. I read several articles on it, but never got a definitive "this is how it's done." Most articles seems to dance around how, this is how it's done. I am under the impression you boil the wort, split the cooled wort in half, first half gets yeast and goes through the normal process, and the second half gets stored in a fridge. After secondary formation, you put the two halves together in a keg, and the yeast in the first half will work on the second half which cases the yeast to cause natural carbonation in the keg, or five gallon wooden barrel. It is then put on a hand pump which forces air in, and beer out. It will have less carbonation, and is served at 40-50 degree temps.
Earlier this year I had some at a restaurant which was room temp, but it was still very good. This past weekend, I had a mug that was as cold as the rest of the beer they sold. I was surprised at how cold it was, but it was still very good. I listened to a pod cast a few years ago a guy was doing cask condition in a corny key by placing the keg on its side leaving air in and the beer to gravity drain out.

 

[dinnerstick]

i would strongly advise against storing unfermented wort in the fridge. it's going to be a playground for bacteria. traditional british cask ale is made pretty simply. it's not divided in half. it's made like any other ale, fermented, and put into the barrel when it's almost done fermenting, or fermented completely and then primed with a small amount of sugar or new wort, with some finings added to help it clear, and sometimes dry hops. the brewer knows exactly what gravity it should be at when it leaves the brewery from experience. it goes to the pub and the publican lets it sit for a few days at cellar temps, during this time the fermentation continues on a bit and the beer gets the appropriate (low) amount of carbonation, and it also drops clear due to the finings and a highly flocculent yeast strain.
if you add half of a 1.040 or so wort back and barrel it, you are going to have an explosion!

 

[Nugent]

If you're really keen on cask conditioning ale, pick up Cellarmanship by Patrick O'Neill (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1852492783/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20) and have a look at Brewing TV's episode 'None more cask' on Youtube or the Northern Brewer website.

Both of these resources have made my cask conditioned beer really successful.

 

[MollyHatchet]

If you're really keen on cask conditioning ale, pick up Cellarmanship by Patrick O'Neill (http://www.amazon.com/Cellarmanship-Patrick-ONeill/dp/1852492783) and have a look at Brewing TV's episode 'None more cask' on Youtube or the Northern Brewer website.

Both of these resources have made my cask conditioned beer really successful.

Thanks, I did watch the video, and it was very helpful in the process. I am going to continue my research, and work on perfecting this style as it is one if my favorites.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

If you are trying to store wort, just put it in the freezer and thaw when needed.