Franconian Beer Message Board

Cask Ales in Ireland
Posted by barryriley on 2013-03-04 01:37:11
I suppose that this is the trend for everything. The recent horse meat business is actually pretty like the change from cask to keg ale. Why? It came about because of the change from 'real' food, i.e. meat or veg that you buy, prepare and cook, to 'convenience' food, i.e. pre-prepared and cooked food. Some forum members may recall that I used to get quite vexed when challenged about 'real ale'. The point is that I want to know what I'm drinking not just 'fobbed' off with some packaged product. As an ex-publican from the Uk, so used to working with both cask and keg beers, I can say that cask real ales demand very little extra work but do demand a little extra care and management. Even keg beers demand that the lines are cleaned regularly - something that is regularly neglected in Ireland. The biggest difficulty is ensuring a good throughput, as real ales do have a shortish shelf-life. This is why I get worried when I go into smallish pubs with an obviously limited turnover and see 4 or more hand pumps in operation. Sadly, sale of beer in pubs in Ireland is declining rapidly and, as turnover drops, there will be little incentive for pubs to serve real ale. I applaud the pubs that have given it a go but they are likely to remain a rarity except in Dublin, which has a biggest enough population to maintain a minority interest. In a sense, the 'craft beer' movement is a bit of a con because, generally, the product is filtered, pasteurised and kegged - the equivalent of packaged convenience foods.
 
Followups:
                                 Cask Ales in Ireland by Mark Andersen on  2013-03-04 06:40:14
                                   Cask Ales in Ireland by Mark Andersen on  2013-03-04 06:49:39
                                 Cask Ales in Ireland by Fred Waltman on  2013-03-04 07:04:19
                                     Cask Ales in Ireland by barryriley on  2013-03-04 08:59:25
                                   Cask Ales in Ireland by barryriley on  2013-03-04 09:20:30
                                       Cask Ales in Ireland by Mark Andersen on  2013-03-04 09:54:52
                                         Cask Ales in Ireland by Mark Andersen on  2013-03-04 10:21:03
                                           Cask Ales in Ireland by Nick B. on  2013-03-04 23:27:13
                                     Cask Ales in Ireland by barryriley on  2013-03-05 06:38:54
                                       Cask Ales in Ireland by Mark Andersen on  2013-03-05 07:09:41
                                         Cask Ales in Ireland by barryriley on  2013-03-05 08:14:57
                                           Cask Ales in Ireland by Mark Andersen on  2013-03-05 12:15:39
                                         Cask Ales in Ireland by Nick B. on  2013-03-06 01:24:44