– To Keg Or Not To Keg / By Jonathan Heyes
Of late I’ve had a jolly old time picking through the various blogs written on the contentious, if imaginary keg vs cask debate, I say imaginary because personally I don’t think the versus part is real I think they should really be partners in crime. For those of you who have missed it here’s a quick recap, forgive the gross generalisations here but hey I’m short on space, CAMRA believe essentially all good beer/real ale comes in cask/container in which it is subject to a secondary fermentation, ie ‘IT’s ALIVE!’ and is dispensed via a traditional handpump. Keg is seen to not achieve this as the liquid in side is almost in stasis and is dispensed via a pressurised system, which provides a generally colder more carbonated finish. There is a third way, keykeg, but that’s for another post. As the bloggers and CAMRA seem soon to be locked in a deadly embrace which i fear neither will emerge with more dignity than they started with I thought it might be time for me to throw my hat in the ring.
A very flimsy and possibly faulty analogy will follow to explain my personal point of view but as it was his 70th birthday recently I thought it was worth the segue. Bob Dylan is undeniably one the greatest songwriters of all time, yet in the mid sixties he was swamped in controversy. Why? because he decide to start playing songs with an electric guitar and a backing band as opposed to his solo acoustic, folk, protest song roots. The vitriol he incurred during his 1965 world tour became the stuff of legend, fans and press alike, he was heckled from all sides, even famously being branded ‘Judas” by an audience member right here in Manchester’s Free Trade Hall(possibly). His fans were so incensed that he had ‘betrayed’ his protest song roots, they were blinded to the fact that a lot of the songs were just as good, relevant and resolutely incisive as his acoustic songs of earlier years, they were just delivered in a different way. An artist as prolific and diverse as Dylan could not be restrained by the boundaries set for him by his folk music followers, he had to react against it, if he had not, he likely would not be the artist he is today, a non conformist and a maverick. Yes some of his electric songs aren’t classics but neither are some of his acoustics. However there are those who will always and only love Dylan for his early years of protest songs and I for one can’t bring myself to hold that against them, whether I hold the same opinion or not. Hopefully you see where I’m going with this, so as not to labour the analogy too much I’ll sum up right here, I love great Bob Dylan songs, I don’t much care whether they’re electric or acoustic, as far as I’m concerned they’re great songs either way. Well I feel the same way about good beer, whether it comes in a can, bottle, cask, keg or key keg good beer is good beer. Whilst acknowledging there will always be a special place in many peoples hearts for those early protest songs as will there always be a special place for great cask beer. Tradition, heritage, nostalgia call it what you will I think they’re all important but so is diversity, choice and moving forward.
Anyway, the spur for writing this little piece is that here at PSBH we’re getting some new draft lines installed and we’ll be getting some kegs from as many brewers as we can so you can join the debate and decide for yourself. At the end of the day bloggers and CAMRA can fight it out, but the really important person is you the consumer and you will undoubtably vote with your taste buds.
Words By J.Heyes (Port Street beer House)
Pastey says
12.17 pm
07 June 2011
I’ve had the argument about cask and keg many times, and sometimes from both sides. The main point that CAMRA make (I admit, I’m a CAMRA member) is that in a cask, the beer can breath and secondary fermentation can take place. Whereas in a keg, the beer can’t breath, secondary fermentation can’t take place.
Well, to blow that one completely out of the water, what about bottle conditioned ale? It’s in a sealed bottle, and yet, it’s “real” ? Hmm.
The problem with Keg is its image. Think keg and you think cheap rubbish that’s mass marketed to the idiocracy. But keg isn’t all like that, in the same way as CAMRA members aren’t all beared, beer-gutted, sandle wearing bores. For a start, I’m middle aged and still can’t grow a beard.
Most decent continental beers (many of which beer advocates rave about) are kegged. Several decent UK beers (many of which beer advocates rave about) are kegged. I’ve not seen anyone come into Port Street yet and say “Oh, no I won’t have that Brew Dog because it’s on keg.”
There’s other things to take into consideration, length of time of carbination, pressure, chilling, etc, etc, but basically I’m of the opinion of “Get over yourselves.” Kegged beer is the same as cask beer, and bottled beer, in that the good stuff is worth drinking, the Katz Pizz is worth leaving.
Rick Ogden says
12.20 pm
07 June 2011
In a lot of ways I believe this to be true. However, I think what is being missed in this article is the fact that if you put keg and cask head to head, which is more enjoyable? A great example is that I have had BrewDog 5am Saint both from the cask and from the keg. They were both extremely enjoyable, and one of my favourite beers of all time. However, if I had a choice, I’d choose the cask version. Why? Not because it is more “traditional”, not because keg is “wrong”, but because it has much more of a taste. As I am not a beer expert I don’t know whether that’s to do with the keg not being live, colder or carbonated. And frankly, I don’t really care, as I don’t see the reason as being important.
This whole debate seems to be losing sight of the wood for the trees. Surely the ONLY important thing is how much you enjoy drinking it.
Jonny says
12.40 pm
07 June 2011
Good point Rick, I think tasted side by side 5am for example taste quite distinct and some people prefer the keg version, some prefer the cask. I think there are some beers that will always be better in cask and vice versa, that extra bit of fermentation in the cask certainly has an effect on beer, of course this can be used as an argument both for and against.
Pastey – ditto on the lack of beard vibe, i agree that stereotyping CAMRA member’s is wrong, but CAMRA will always be about the ‘RA’ part I guess that is why they were set up.
Pastey says
12.44 pm
07 June 2011
Cask and keg will taste different, but so do the different methods of cask dispense. Straight from the tap, through a throw-over and through a swan neck and sparkler (yuk ;¬) all make the same cask beer taste completely different. Good keg is just another dispense method.
Camra may be all about the RA, but how come bottled beer can be real but keg can’t?
Jonny says
12.58 pm
07 June 2011
I think ‘bottle fermented’ is deemed to have enough fermentable material remaining or sometimes added to have discernable effect on the finished character, particularly through long aging. Most bottled beers are filtered or centrifuged to remove a lot of this stuff. Another question I guess is that a lot of crap beer, with practically nothing fermentable in it, laced with finings can be considered a ‘real ale’.
Rick Ogden says
1.23 pm
07 June 2011
Yes, I think that’s the point. The clue is in the name of Camra. Of course Camra will (and should) be all about the real ale. I too am a Camra member, and in general I prefer real ale. I won’t turn my nose up at keg though. Just because you don’t follow the Camra line doesn’t mean it’s wrong, nor does it mean Camra are wrong.
Darren T says
1.45 pm
07 June 2011
Pretty sure the “Judas concert” definitely was the Manchester Free Trade Hall on May 17 1966. That’s what it says on the back of my Bootleg Series Vol 4 CD.
Jay Krause says
9.16 am
08 June 2011
It’s a strange debate, this, and one which is even stranger as the main points seem to me to be argued from subjective viewpoints. Some people prefer cask and some people prefer keg. Some people dislike over pressured keg, some people like it. Some like gravity dispensed cask, some like sparklers. Ad nauseum.
I’d prefer a great keg beer to a bad cask beer any day. It’s ridiculous to completely rule out keg from your life as most (all?) US beers aren’t going to be shipped to the UK in anything but a keg, and I honestly don’t think that some of the styles they produce would be any good on cask.
Of course CAMRA should be all about real ale. That’s what it was set up to defend and it continues to do so very well, I feel. Every beer festival I’ve been to recently has reported growing attendance and most of these don’t have keg beers, which does say a great deal for cask. Personally I still think that it’s impossible to beat cask when in top condition – cellarmanship may be the most important role any pub can have – but that’s only my opinion and I’ll still happily have keg over cask depending on my mood at the time, it’s not a black and white choice for me.
/end essay
Mark Hensby says
3.18 pm
09 June 2011
Cask v Keg. Keg beers are, in almost every case, sterile filtered at very low temperatures so that all particles are removed typically everything smaller than .4 of a micron. They are then kegged under CO2 pressure and again dispensed with CO2 pressure. Try drinking one of the major Keg brands at room temperature 2 hours after dispense, there will be either no flavour or it will be vile.
The point here is that in the UK, and much of North America, producing keg beer is an industrial process for massive corporations who are driven by accountants. They generally use cheap fermentables (notably High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and chemically derived hop flavourings.
The point about Cask and Bottle Conditioned Beer (CAMRA RAIB) is that it is completely natural. There is no filtration and the carbonation takes place in the bottle or cask as a result of the secondary fermentation. The rest of the pro keg argument is all about shelf life, cask beer once tapped in a cellar must be sold in 3/4 days, keg will last weeks or even months.
It’s the difference between fresh milk and UHT.
Jonny says
12.28 pm
10 June 2011
Hi Mark,
Thanks for your comments, I wouldn’t dispute everything you’ve stated, but I do think there is a place in the market for smaller brewers using keg. Never in place of cask but potentially to cater to a slightly different demographic. I’m not sure, Hardknott, Thornbridge, Harviestoun, Hawkshead et al have access to the industrialised processes you refer to or use cheap adjuncts or hop extracts/oils. I know you’re making reference to huge multinational brewers but they aren’t the ones I was talking about.
Jumping on board the cask v keg debate bandwagon « A FemAle View says
4.53 pm
14 June 2011
[…] http://portstreetbeerhouse.co.uk/blog/2011/06/07/to-keg-or-not-to-keg […]
Matt says
4.37 pm
24 June 2011
Hey guys, quick question on this topic to anyone in the know. What about unpasteurised or unfiltered kegs? Fruh koelsch for example is I believe unpasteurised but kegged and there is a massive difference in flavour between the draught and bottled(which is filtered and pasteurised). I believe the draught Brooklyn Lager is also unpasteurised. In fruhs case this definitely benefits the product but is there much difference generally apart from a shortening of shelf life?