That's why it is a bad idea to have swan neck a sqirty ("sparkler") dispense on southern brews produced to be served "flat" [1] if the supporters of WhyHandpull engage in a conversation or two with the long term supporters of traditional handpulls (and there are many types) they might get some mileage. Perhaps a little badge to say "this is proper handpulled beer" - I dare say CAMRA HQ might[2] endorse the design if the conditions are similar to the ones for bottle conditioned beer.
[1] Obviously it isn't flat merely not served with a cream coating.
[2] Just a guess
I don't like swan necks either. Sits inside your glass (and everyone else's) getting beer all over it, which attracts the flies and other crawly things, and occasionally gets a visit from the barman's rag, which has also visited the bar surface, various spills around the place, and his grubby sticky hands.
OK, I give you this scenario - bright brewery-conditioned cask beer under a blanket of CO2 dispensed by handpump. Not real ale, but handpulled cask ale all the same. Is this the way ahead?
Of the millions who consume mass-market cask ale, how many could tell the difference between that and the bland Tetleys/John Smiths/Banks/ GKIPA/whatever they are drinking now, or would be arsed about the semantics? This "handpulled" "cask ale" would be consistent, never a sour or cloudy pint and would keep longer [ring a bell?].
Lo and behold, "real" ale [according to CAMRA's agenda] then has to decide whether it wants to be "popular" or "niche". Would CAMRA be able to campaign successfully against "handpulled cask ale"? How would consumers tell what was what?
much as I'm personally generally a fan of cask beer served with decent natural carbonation & a little head, I do wonder whether most drinkers throughout the country are now so used to being served beer with a significant head that many landlords feel that they have to use a sparkler?
Am I right to think that many Southern ale brewers use sparklers in their own pubs? (Youngs, Fullers, etc?) Seems like an uphill struggle to try to get them to get rid of them.
I also get the feeling from some of the comments from WhyHandpull that a CAMRA endorsement isn't really something they're bothered with (linked to their possible move away from the possible image problems related to both CAMRA & the term 'real ale'). cheers MikeMcG
(sounds like nitrokeg) but having had some awful pints of cask beer in my time, I can see why either of these tawdry options (nitrokeg/bright beer in cask with co2) would be welcomed by some landlords & drinkers
- i.e. it shows up an inherent problem/issue with cask beer - that some pubs shouldn't sell it because they can't keep it well & trying to do so & failing diminishes the perception of all cask beer.
& I don't think the answer to this problem is the type of not-even- halfway-house "cask beer for dummies" that you describe. - No! no! no!
hmmm - fair enough & no, I don't think you're being paranoid that some brewers might try this, but I doubt whether it's WhyHandpull's intention to promote this sort of 'unreal ale' either. But I can see that by focusing largely on the point of dispense, unscrupulous brewers might try some underhand jiggerypokery with the beer itself.
Still, I think that the best of truly real ale is good enough & strong enough to stand up for itself, perhaps with some vocal opposition from CAMRA, if this sort of campaign is seen to be muddying the waters.
Apart from this report, I'd never heard of the campaign anyway & nothing that they've said so far has led me to believe that they want to play silly buggers. At present though it's hard to say what they're plan is, as they have no website, etc. I guess we will see. cheers MikeMcG
Many years ago I was in a Sheps pub in Kent. Seeing two handpumps, one for mild and one for bitter, I thought I would try the mild. I realised my mistake when the landlord flicked a switch on the back of the handpump rather than pulling it...
a year or 2 back, there was a tale going round that Fuller's were doing it a lot, in bars in the USofA (fitting fake handpulls that is, not crucifying anyone - they've not done that for years, now ;-) cheers MikeMcG
DrinksForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.