Real Ale: Live beer however it’s served
Look out for this logo to let you know that what’s inside is a fantastic, traditionally brewed live beer. Real ale is a living, natural product that continues to mature in the container, creating a complex depth of flavour and a smooth, gentle carbonation you won’t typically find in mass produced beers. By choosing a pint of live beer, you’re experiencing a fresh, unpasteurized drink bursting with distinct character while directly supporting independent breweries and historic pub culture.
If you are a business owner or manager and want to know how to get hold of the logo to use contact us at pubsofficer@sthelens.camra.org.uk
For those that want to know what CAMRA’s formal definition or real ale and live beer is here you go:
Understanding Real Ale: The Modern CAMRA Definition
Since CAMRA was formed in the early 1970s, the beer world has changed dramatically. To keep up with modern brewing techniques, CAMRA uses the overarching term “Live Beer” to define the core of what real ale is, before breaking down the specific characteristics of traditional “Cask-Conditioned Beer.”
🍺 Part 1: What is “Live Beer”?
At its simplest, CAMRA defines a live beer as a beer that is alive and maturing inside its final container (whether that container is a cask, bottle, can, keg, or tank).
The Technical Rule:
To be classed as a live beer, when it is first put into its container, it must have:
- At least 100,000 cells of live yeast per millilitre.
- Enough fermentable sugar left over to create a measurable secondary fermentation inside that container.
💡 Pointers to Best Practice:
- Flavour Development: Dead or filtered beer is at its best the moment it leaves the brewery and gradually fades. Live beer, however, continues to develop character and depth over time—for months in a bottle, or even a decade for stronger beers.
- Natural Carbonation: The bubbles in live beer are completely natural. In a sealed container (like a bottle, can, or key-keg), the trapped carbon dioxide gas () builds up, creating higher carbonation. In a vented cask, the gas can escape, resulting in a naturally lower, gentler carbonation.
🛢️ Part 2: What is “Cask-Conditioned Beer”?
CAMRA defines cask-conditioned beer (traditional Real Ale) as a live beer that continues to mature in its cask, with any excess carbon dioxide vented out so it can be served at natural atmospheric pressure.
💡 Pointers to Best Practice:
- Cellar Maturation: Cask beer should be left to settle and develop in the cellar for up to 10 days before serving. This venting and resting rounds out the character and creates subtle, appealing flavours.
- Traditional Ingredients: Authentic cask beer should be brewed primarily from malted barley. The use of cheap alternative starches or sugars should be minimal or zero.
- Natural Hops: Brewers should use whole, compressed, or pelletised hops. Hop extracts or oils should only be used for tiny adjustments. “Dry-hopping” (adding fresh hops straight to the cask) is highly encouraged.
- Clear vs. Hazy Beer: Traditionally, a protein called “finings” is added to the cask to make the beer “drop bright” (pour crystal clear). Some modern brewers choose to leave their beers “unfined,” resulting in a hazy look. Both methods are equally authentic.
- The Perfect Carbonation: Authentic cask beer has a low, natural carbonation of around 2 grams of per litre (1.1 volumes). For comparison, kegged or bottled beers are much gassier, sitting at 4–8 grams of per litre.
- Temperature Control: Casks must reach a strict cellar temperature of 11–14°C before being vented. Once vented, the beer needs between 12 hours and 4 days to stabilize perfectly.
- Serving and Freshness: When cask beer is pulled via a handpump or gravity tap, air enters the cask to replace the liquid. Because oxygen eventually spoils the flavor, good cellar management is vital. Replacing this air with a sterile, inactive gas at atmospheric pressure to preserve freshness is completely permissible.