Cask Beer Information

Only our Burlingame location serves cask-conditioned beer.

1. Why is it called cask-conditioned beer?
Cask-conditioned beer is beer that is "conditioned", or carbonated, in the keg or cask.

2. How is it made?
Finished, flat beer is put into a keg, and a small quantity of fermenting new beer is added too. The new beer, or gyle, continues to ferment in the keg, creating the CO2 which will become the carbonation of the finished cask-conditioned beer.

3. Why is it the guality inconsistent?
Each cask will have a different finishing hop added, so that each cask tastes unique. (See number 7 below.) Also, it is hard to predict the exact outcome of the beer when it is fermenting in a cask like that. Sometimes the new beer (gyle) which was added is more or less active, which could cause the cask-conditioned beer to be more or less carbonated, and sometiInes more or less yeasty.

4. Is that why it is flat sometimes?
Yes, sometimes it is a little too flat for American taste buds, and sometimes it is too bubbly at first. This has to do with the mysterious activity of the new beer (gyle) which was added.

5. Why is it so cloudy?
Sometimes cask-conditioned beer in the USA is cloudy. In Great Britain it is usually quite clear. They have the advantage of large cellars under the pubs where the casks can be kept "on stillage" for a week or so while the beers work and carbonate (condition). When a beer is "on stillage", it means the cask is kept still, and is not moved at all, and is tapped later from that same position. Here at Steelhead, the beer is moved from the warm brewhouse to the back bar when it should be kept "on stillage". Consequently, the keg gets shook up a little and the yeast gets kicked up, making the beer cloudy.

6. Why is cask-conditioned beer warm?
In Great Britain, cask-conditioned beer is served at cellar temperature, or 54°F. Here the beer is kept in the back bar cooler while it is dispensed. The beer engine itself has a reservoir inside, so a portion of the beer warms up a little. At cellar temperature (54°F), the best flavors come out of this kind of beer.

7. Is it "dry-hopped "?
Sometimes extra finishing hops are added directly to the keg when creating a cask beer. This makes the beer more aromatic. (Hops can give a floral, spicy or earthy aroma.)

8. Why does it take so long to pour a cask-conditioned beer?
When a cask beer is first put on tap, it is usually quite "lively", meaning it has a lot of natural CO2 built up. This causes the first portion of beers served to be foamy and it takes awhile to wait for the foam to fall back down. Also, the beer is served with muscle-pressure; the bartender has to pump the beer engine to serve the beer. Hopefully you will find cask-conditioned beer worth the wait!

Diagram of British-style beer engine. Put clean glass under the exit tube, and pull the handle toward you to pump the beer into the glass.

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