A BREWING trick could enable cask ales to be served on trains, aircraft and cruise ships. Ale normally takes two days to settle after each jolt, but British brewer 鈥榮 has developed a cask beer that can be poured a minute after the barrel has been moved.
Cask ale continues to ferment in the barrel. A collagen called isinglass is usually added to turn the yeast into a gel-like mass, but while this clarifies the beer, it takes a long time to settle at the bottom of the barrel.
Richard Westwood, who is the brewing director at Marston鈥檚 in Wolverhampton, is patenting the Fast Cask method of in-barrel fermentation that doesn鈥檛 need time to settle. The beer is first fermented in a large vessel, then a vacuum device removes clumps of yeast before the beer is decanted into barrels. Powdered alginate, an extract of seaweed, is poured over yeast to form gel-like beads, which are then added to the barrel. The porous beads let fermentation continue, but the alginate makes the mass sink immediately, Westwood says. So the beer is quickly ready to drink.
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The Campaign For Real Ale, a UK-based beer enthusiasts鈥� group, says it is considering whether the technique would meet its 鈥渞eal ale鈥� standards.
