In
the early 1970s CAMRA coined the term ‘real
ale' to make it easy for people to differentiate between
the bland processed beers being
pushed by the big brewers and the traditional beers whose
very existence was under threat.
Many
pubs and brewers use the term to describe their beers, but, just
to keep you confused, they are also called cask beers, cask-conditioned
ales or even real beer! In the pub the huge majority of real
ales are
served using traditional hand-pulls, rather than through modern
fonts, but there are some exceptions to this, so if in any doubt,
just ask. For a full explanation of real ale read the article here on
the main CAMRA website.
There
are hundreds of real ale breweries in England (a
few in this area - see our list here) some
of which are "micro-breweries" (often
behind a pub or in a factory unit), some medium sized and
a few very large companies. They all produce a
variety of types of beer each with a distinct
flavour. Descriptions might be " Light,
refreshing bitter with good malt base and lots of
fresh flowery hop character" or "Classic
premium ale, smooth and malty with well
developed hop character" - try them and
discover the amazing tastes - and varieties - for
yourself! They are not available in every pub -
you may have to seek out a decent pub first!
