13th October 2025
Written by Holly Richardson
What is cask?
Cask ale is a live beer product. It’s not been pasteurised, filtered or carbonated. Cask ale also still contains yeast. There are many myths and misconceptions about Cask ale, which is worthy of an article itself, but we’ve added a few to the end of this article as a starter. You can expect cask ale to be poured from a traditional hand pull, rather than the dispense taps you’d see a lager or craft ale poured from. As well as difference in how you see it poured, the process and the care required from the pub to get your pint in great condition is important
The cask beer is delivered by the Robinsons Dray Team
Once the beer has been delivered, it needs to be stored correctly on stillage. The stillage is where the beer lays flat on its side, without further movement. This allows the sediment in the cask to settle to the bottom but also provides a small amount of space in the cask for the next step. This happens on the day of delivery. There are several types of stillage, the majority nowadays are metal devices which auto-tilts the beer as beer is poured. Wooden stillage requires manual intervention to tilt the cask higher once about 1/3 of the product has been dispensed.
Preparing the beer ready for drinking
Between 4 and 24 hours after delivery, the cask should have adjusted to the temperature of the cellar (another important influence in the perfect pint). Then, the cask is ready to be ‘tapped and vented’. At the top of each cask is a tut and ‘shive’. The tut is removed and replaced with a porous (soft) wooden peg. At the front of a cask is the “keystone”. This is where a clean cask tap is inserted. This is a very important part of the process known as “tapping and venting”, and one where its own myths often lie… The “venting” process begins the conditioning of the cask beer ready for sale.
What is conditioning?
The cask contains yeast. The yeast ferments the sugars into alcohol with carbon dioxide as a by-product. Some carbon dioxide that remains in the solution gives the beer its bubbles and tight frothy head. During the conditioning process the hops, malt and yeast mature and develop into subtle flavours that characterise a perfect cask beer. The sediment in the beer drops with aid of finings and must not be disturbed once settled. The process of conditioning will take between 48 and 168 hours! Serving the beer After the beer has been vented, tapped and conditioned for a minimum of 48hrs, a sample of beer should be taken before connecting up the lines. This is to check the beer is bright (clear and without haze) and to check the beer smells and tastes as expected. Then, the beer is connected to the line and pulled through to the bar using the handpull. From the first pint drawn, the beer is at its optimum quality for three days. Then at the end of every day, a hard non-porous peg replaces the soft, porous peg in the top of the cask to keep it fresh. (just as you’d wrap food to keep it fresh!).
What are the signs of a great pint then?
It’s chilled
The optimum cellar temperature is 11-13°C. If you’ve ever stood in a beer cellar, you’ll notice it’s chilly, this is how you’d expect your beer to be. It’s not warm.
It’s got a nice creamy head
You should expect to see the head of the beer lasting well and even leaving lines on the glass as you drink. This happens when the beer ‘conditioning’ part is done correctly. Clean and new-enough glassware is also a huge factor here. Warm or wet glassware can also affect the appearance and head retention of the beer.
It tastes great
It’s fresh, smooth and goes down a treat. After around three days of dispending, the characteristics will rapidly change, and the overall quality will disappear. You’ll then start to notice changes in flavour and a vinegary profile.
Cask ale is a live beer product. It’s not been pasteurised, filtered or carbonated. Cask ale also still contains yeast.
Between 4 and 24 hours after delivery, the cask should have adjusted to the temperature of the cellar (another important influence in the perfect pint). Then, the cask is ready to be ‘tapped and vented’. At the top of each cask is a tut and ‘shive’. The tut is removed and replaced with a porous (soft) wooden peg. At the front of a cask is the “keystone”. This is where a clean cask tap is inserted. This is a very important part of the process known as “tapping and venting”, and one where its own myths often lie… The “venting” process begins the conditioning of the cask beer ready for sale.
During the beer conditioning process, the hops, malt and yeast mature and develop into subtle flavours that characterise a perfect cask beer. The sediment in the beer drops with aid of finings and must not be disturbed once settled. The process of conditioning will take between 48 and 168 hours!
After the beer has been vented, tapped and conditioned for a minimum of 48hrs, a sample of beer should be taken before connecting up the lines. From the first pint drawn, the beer is at its optimum quality for three days. Then at the end of every day, a hard non-porous peg replaces the soft, porous peg in the top of the cask to keep it fresh. (just as you’d wrap food to keep it fresh!).
