PACKAGING OF BEER

At the end of the brewing process, beer is treated and packaged in different ways to suit the needs of the market. ‘Conditioning’ is the final process that makes the beer ready to serve. Beer can be either brewery-conditioned, or cask-conditioned. When beer is conditioned by the brewery, prior to dispatching it to its customers, it is known as brewery-conditioned beer, and when beer is dispatched ‘unfinished’ and allowed to be conditioned in the cask, this is known as cask-conditioned beer.

Brewery-conditioned beers

Brewery-conditioned beers are ready to drink as soon as they leave the brewery. The brewery conditions the beer by chilling and filtering it to remove all the yeast, then pasteurising it to make a sterile product. If the brewery-conditioned beer is to be packaged as draught beer (ie beer that is served via a tap on the bar), it will be placed into containers known as kegs. (Kegs are sealed containers that are pressurised with gas. They are connected to the beer dispense system by a coupling device.) Alternatively, it can be put into bottles or cans. Lagers and many types of ale are treated and packaged in this way.

Cask-conditioned beers

Cask-conditioned beers (also known as ‘traditional beers’ or ‘real ales’) are not ready to drink immediately; they need time to condition in the cask. (Casks are special containers that allow you to hammer in a tap and vent the cask.) The brewery fills casks with beer direct from the fermenting vessels and adds a substance called finings to the beer, which ensures that all yeast and proteins are drawn to the bottom of the cask once it is left undisturbed in the pub’s cellar. This clarifies the beer and gives it its bright appearance. During this time, a secondary fermentation of the beer takes place in the cask. Cask beer typically takes around 48–72 hours before it is ready to serve via a hand pump.