Learning Archives - Worcester CAMRA

What is Real Cider

mark.griffiths — Fri, 21 Jun 2019 10:51:24 +0000

CAMRA Learning

What is Real Cider?

What is real cider?

Real cider is a long established traditional drink, but most of the cold fizzy products we are used to seeing are far from the real thing. Real cider is produced naturally from apples and is neither carbonated or pasteurised, while real perry is made from pears. Many of the well-known ciders sold in the UK are not produced naturally from apples but have been produced artificially using syrup.
The popularity of real cider is rising as more people discover how deliciously mellow and aromatic the flavours of naturally-produced cider can be. A glass of real cider or perry represents generations of production dating back hundreds of years. The basics of cider production have remained the same the whole time – simply pick and press the fruit, allow to ferment and enjoy.

Why does an apple taste sweet yet cider is naturally dry?

To make cider the apples are milled, i.e. reduced to small pieces, and then pressed to release the juice. Using the natural yeast, which covers the apple skin (or introduced yeast) and the sugars contained within the juice, fermentation takes place. Once fermentation is completed the sweet sugars have been converted into alcohol leaving a dry product. Cider can then be sweetened by using unfermented apple juice or artificial sweeteners.

Which apples are best for making cider?

The apples, which we eat as a dessert fruit, are very different from the specialist fruit, which is usually used to make cider. There are over 600 types of apples grown in The British Isles and each one has a unique balance of sweetness, acidity & tannins. Of these, it is estimated three quarters are cider apples. It is the three components of sweetness, acid & tannins, which give the cider its range & depth of flavour. In the majority of cider making areas specialist cider apples are used, in Kent dessert apples balanced with the acidity of cookers are used.

What’s special about a cider apple?

Cider apples are usually more closely related to the wild crab apple than to eating or cooking apples. They are smaller, harder and lack the unblemished attraction of eaters or cookers. If you tried to eat a cider apple you would discover its main difference from eaters or cookers is its tannin level. Tannin is responsible for the astringency of the fruit, making the fruit taste bitter and drying the mouth & making it difficult to swallow.

How do you know which apples to use?

Cider apples are classified by their balance of acid & tannin according to four categories:-

• Bittersweets, low acidity, high tannin
• Sweets, low acidity, low tannin
• Sharps, high acidity, low tannin
• Bittersharps, high acidity, high tannin

Cider Makers use a closely guarded mix of apples at pressing to create their blend of cider, which is why if you try one that is not totally to your taste another cider may suit you better. Today the consumer tends to prefer sweeter, smoother less acidic ciders so Cider Makers tend not to favour bitter sharp apples with their intense astringency and high acid content. Planning how the cider will taste starts with the planting of orchards where several different varieties of tree are planted together. This means that all the apples can be harvested and processed at the same time to make an outstanding product.

How is the fruit harvested?

With traditional orchards, the fruit has ripened by September. Long ash poles (which can be 40 foot long for perry trees) are used to knock the apples & pears from the trees. As it falls it is stacked up in mounds or tumps, covered with straw waiting to be bagged up & sent for milling & pressing. This is a labour intensive process which many growers would welcome help with. A new type of bush tree has been planted; this is a faster growing dwarf variety of tree. Bush trees are laid out in tight rows with wide avenues between them. Harvesting is automated with tractor borne vibrators clamping around the tree trunk & shaking the fruit off. Blowers are used in lining up the fruit between trees and then a machine like an apple combine harvester is used to lift the fruit & discard stones, twigs & leaves.

What is Perry?

As cider is made from apples, perry is made from pears, not just any pear though. These are perry pears, which tend to be smaller & harder then dessert pears. Perry tends to be produced sweet or medium sweet although CAMRA’s 2003 National Bronze Perry was Barkers Dry from Worcestershire. Perry also contains natural levels of non-fermentable sorbitol. Perry trees while bearing fruit in 3/5 years will continue to produce fruit for 200 or 300 years. This is much longer than apple trees, this has lead to the phrase “plant perry for your heirs”.

The post What is Real Cider appeared first on Worcester CAMRA.

Beer Types

mark.griffiths — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 16:57:05 +0000

CAMRA Learning

Main Beer Types

There is a wide variety of beer types from malty, lightly-hopped milds to dark and bitter stouts and porters. There is beer out there to suit everyone’s taste. Here are the main beer styles.

Beer Types

Mild

Mild is one of the most traditional beer styles which is enjoying a revival in today’s real ale market. Usually dark brown in colour, due to the use of well-roasted malts or barley it is less hopped than bitters and often has a chocolatey character with nutty and burnt flavours.

Strong Milds

Strong Milds are typically black or dark brown but can be paler, should be richer in caramel than old ales and may have a light roast malt character.

Stouts

Porters and Stouts share a similar origin. The strongest versions of Porter were known as Stout Porter, reduced over the years to simply Stout. Unlike Porters, Stouts use roasted malted barley. Stouts can be dry or sweet and now generally range from 4% to 8% ABV.

Porters

The original choice of London’s market and dock workers was a blend of three beers, but the style has changed constantly since then. Porters are complex in flavour, range from 4% to 6.5% and are typically black or dark brown; the darkness comes from the use of dark malts.

Strong Old Ales

Strong old ales display an extraordinary alcohol content and may have a high residual sweetness. Typically dark brown or black, they may have a very rich malty character, light roast malts, dark fruit flavours and chocolate and coffee flavours.

Old Ales

Old Ale was traditionally stored for months or years in wooden vessels, consequentially picking up some lactic sourness. The style has re-emerged in recent years, and the hallmark remains a lengthy period of maturation, often in a bottle rather than bulk vessels. Old Ales typically range from 4% to 6.5%.

Strong Bitter

Strong Bitters are typically brown, tawny, copper and should have assertive hop aroma and taste. Medium to strong bitterness, they should be full-bodied, some fruitiness and more pronounced maltiness than in other bitters. True to the name, Strong bitters are usually 4.7% ABV or higher.

Barley Wine

Barley Wine is strong – often between 10% and 12% – and is traditionally stored for 18 months or two years. Expect massive sweet malt and ripe fruit of the pear drop, orange and lemon type, with darker fruits, chocolate and coffee if darker malts are used. Hop rates are generous and produce bitterness and peppery, grassy and floral notes.

Bitter

Bitters developed towards the end of the 19th century as brewers began to produce beers that could be served in pubs after only a few days storage in cellars. Bitters grew out of pale ale but were usually deep bronze to copper in colour due to the use of slightly darker crystal malts.

Best Bitter

Best Bitters are between 4.1-4.6% ABV and typically brown or copper in colour. They should have an assertive hop aroma and taste, medium to strong bitterness and residual maltiness.

Golden Ales

This new style of pale, well-hopped beer developed in the 1980s. Golden Ales are pale amber, gold, yellow or straw coloured. Golden Ales have a low ABV and a clean hoppiness, without losing the core biscuity maltiness. It should be served cool and is a great summer ale.

Speciality

Speciality beers are real ales that may be produced with novel ingredients including fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, honey, coffee, cocoa, chocolate, flowers other than hops and cereals other than barley. The category includes cask-conditioned lagers, beers made with specialist yeasts (including wild yeasts) or unusual balances of dark malts or hops, and beers of very high gravity. The classification allows for continued innovation.

The post Beer Types appeared first on Worcester CAMRA.

What is Real Ale

mark.griffiths — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 15:48:10 +0000

CAMRA Learning

What is Real Ale?

What is beer?

Beer is produced from malted barley, yeast, water and nearly always with hops, although other ingredients such as wheat, oats, rye, fruit, honey, herbs, spices and flowers are sometimes used. The yeast ferments sugars generated from the malted barley into alcohol and carbon dioxide gas. Hops provide bitterness and characteristic aromas and tastes. The flavour of the beer depends on many things, including the types of malt and hops used, other ingredients and the yeast strain.

What is real ale?

In the early 1970s, CAMRA coined the term ‘real ale’ to describe traditional draught cask beers. ‘real ale’ distinguishes itself from the processed and highly carbonated beers that were promoted by big brewers at that time.

Real ale is a ‘living’ product, which is typically produced and stored in a cask container. In comparison to other types of beer that kill off the yeast and artificially inject the beer with CO2 before serving. Real ale contains live yeast which continues to condition and ferments the beer until it is served.

Like any artisan product, real ale requires special handling and storing to ensure the quality of taste. Well-kept real ale served at the right temperature should be lively, naturally carbonated and flavourful – representing the pinnacle of brewing art.

Over the intervening 45 years, the term ‘real ale’ has been extended to encompass live beer in other formats. CAMRA defines real ale as beer that is produced and stored traditionally. Real ales are not filtered or pasteurised. It is fermented in dispense containers to produce a reduction in gravity. It is also dispensed by a system that does not directly apply any gas or gas mixture to the beer other than by the traditional Scottish air pressure system.

What is Cask-Conditioned beer?

Cask conditioned beer is the most common and traditional form of real ale, most commonly served either by gravity (straight from the cask) or by handpump. Metered electric pumps can still be found and a few pubs in Scotland still use the traditional tall fount air pressure system. Pubs are increasingly using systems which pump beer electrically from the cask to taps on the pub wall. Some handpumps may be assisted by an additional pump between the cask and the bar to overcome potential issues with deep cellars or long beer lines. Additional pumps can be electric or gas powered with the most common form being the Flojet brand of gas powered pump. Although flojets require a supply of compressed air or other gas, no gas comes in contact with the beer.

Can you get real ale in other containers?

Yes, real ale in a bottle (RAIB) where beer meeting our definition of real ale is bottled is widely available. Also, real ale in a can (RAIC) has recently made an appearance. CAMRA has an accreditation scheme for these beers available to all brewers producing them which is based upon laboratory testing. Accreditation will enable the “CAMRA Says this is Real Ale” logo to be used. Real ale is now also increasingly to be found in other, non-traditional containers. Real ale can be put into kegs and smaller one-use containers now known generically as keykegs. CAMRA is introducing a labeling scheme to indicate which beers served from keykegs is real ale.

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