Franconian Beer Message Board
Cask Ales in Ireland |
| Posted by barryriley on 2013-03-04 08:59:25 |
| Having made the accusation, I thought I'd better take a look at what Porterhouse and 8 Degree (which I've never had) say about their beers. Both have handy little diagrams illustrating the brewing process. 8 Degree are pretty upfront - most of their beers are filtered through earth into a 'bright beer tank'. At that stage, they say the CO2 is 'adjusted' - I'm not sure what that means. It is easy (sadly) to add CO2, but can you take out 'extraneous' CO2 and why would you want to? Then they say that it packaged into kegs (or bottles), which are delivered to 'bars and pubs, hooked up to tap ready for dispense'. They don't say anything about pasteurisation but, if it isn't pasteurised, how can they ensure that it remains fit to drink for any length of time? Porterhouse claim that they don't pasteurise their beer and that seems reasonable as I think that they only sell it in their own pubs, which (with the exception of London and New York) are fairly close to the brewery. I would imagine that this allows them to maintain good quality control - from my limited experience, I've not had a bad beer in their bars. However, their brewing diagram shows a 'conditioning vessel' and I'm not quite sure what that is used for exactly. The diagram (more of a sketch really) shows the beer going from the conditioning vessel into bottles, kegs and, seemingly, wooden casks. This can't be accurate as you can't put the same product into all three different containers. I remain unconvinced about the whole 'craft' brewing industry in Ireland. I've heard a few representatives from these companies talking on the radio and the emphasis is always on investment and business opportunities. Now I appreciate that it is better to approach any new enterprise in a business-like way but I don't hear any of the enthusiasm for real ale such as you hear from the small breweries in the UK. The really good news is that the Danganella Brewing Co (aka my homebrew) is producing excellent quality beers, using a mixture of kits and a few additives in a plastic bucket and storing the results in PET bottles! |
| Followups: |
 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 |