{"id":1490,"date":"2021-01-27T17:32:01","date_gmt":"2021-01-27T17:32:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/?p=1490"},"modified":"2021-01-27T17:32:04","modified_gmt":"2021-01-27T17:32:04","slug":"camra-updates-its-definition-of-real-ale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/2021\/01\/27\/camra-updates-its-definition-of-real-ale\/","title":{"rendered":"CAMRA updates its definition of real ale"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The definition of real ale in the <em>Oxford English Dictionary<\/em> is essentially the one that CAMRA adopted in its early days: \u2018Cask-conditioned beer that is served traditionally, without additional gas pressure\u2019 and obviously excludes the description of bottle-conditioned beer as \u2018real ale in a bottle\u2019. \u00a0Over CAMRA\u2019s 50 year existence, there have been many developments in the art and craft of brewing and so the National Executive asked the Technical Advisory Group to review the terminology.\u00a0 The agreed way forward is now to have two definitions, one being a subset of the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;The more general concept<strong>, live beer<\/strong>, is defined as \u2018beer that, when first put into its final container, contains at least 0.1 million cells of live yeast per millilitre, plus enough fermentable sugar to produce a measurable reduction in its gravity while in that container, whatever it may be\u2019. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The thinking behind this is that a beer without live yeast will only be at its best on leaving the brewery and it will gradually fade and become stale. &nbsp;A living beer however continues to develop character after leaving the brewery. &nbsp;Consequently many bottled beers remain drinkable for many months and, as Christine Cryne has recently described, some particularly well-made stronger beers may last \u2013 or even improve \u2013 for a decade or more. &nbsp;This also applies to certain strong beers which, although they do not meet the definition of \u2018live beer\u2019, can improve with age because of the type of yeast used and other biological processes. &nbsp;Storage, and in particular temperature, remain important considerations. &nbsp;A useful source of information here, as mentioned in the last edition, is the EBCU beer styles list: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ebcu.org\/thebeerstyles-of-europe-and-beyond\/\"><em>www.ebcu.org\/thebeerstyles-of-europe-and-beyond<\/em>\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The subordinate concept, <strong>cask-conditioned beer<\/strong> is then defined as \u2018live beer that continues to mature and condition in its cask, any excess of carbon dioxide being vented such that it is served at atmospheric pressure\u2019. \u00a0Leaving the beer to settle and condition in the cellar, for up to ten days if necessary, remains vital. \u00a0The recommended cellar temperature is 11 to 14\u00b0C. \u00a0Most cask beers will \u2018drop bright\u2019 and will pour clear because of the use of finings. \u00a0Some modern cask beers however are not fined or filtered, leaving the beer hazy. \u00a0This might not look quite so attractive but clear beer is a relatively modern concept and this simply reflects older practice. \u00a0Not fining beer creates flavour differences from clear beer but both are equally authentic. \u00a0More detailed coverage of this subject can be found on CAMRA\u2019s Learn and Discover website. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The definition of real ale in the Oxford English Dictionary is essentially the one that CAMRA adopted in its early days: \u2018Cask-conditioned beer that is served traditionally, without additional gas&hellip; 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