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How real ale is brewed – a simple guide Brewing beer relies on the action of yeast on sugar. When yeast feeds on sugar, the result is two main by-products: carbon dioxide and… alcohol.   To begin the process, the starch in malt is converted into sugar by mashing the malt in hot water – at around 70C for an hour or so.   The resultant brown liquid is drained, or lautered, and hot water is then sprayed into the remaining malt to extract the remaining sugar. This is sparging.   The sweet liquor thus obtained is the wort – and this is then boiled for as long as two hours to kill off any bacteria and rid the brew of unwanted flavours.   The classic bitterness of the beer comes from hopping – the addition of hops, which may take place at different stages during the boil, according to the recipe being used. Hops added at the start of the brew will add bitterness, while those put in at the end will add to the hoppy aroma and character of the ale.   After boiling, the beer is rapidly cooled to 20C, using a heat exchanger – as faster cooling, improves the nature of the wort and lessens the chance of an unwanted infection.   The mixture is then pumped into the fermentation vessel, the yeast is added and fermentation then takes place over several days, after which the resultant beer is transferred to casks or bottles.   It all sounds so simple – but the devil’s in the detail, and the skill’s in the recipe… as any failed homebrew vinegar-maker will tell you!   A brewer’s directory of phrase and fables Real ale in the modern world In the middle of the worst recession since the start of World War II, one industry is staging a revival that has stunned those pondering how to create new businesses and wealth. The real ale brewing business is bouncing back! Last year, as banks went bust and industries collapsed, new micro-breweries opened at the rate of two per week across Britain, as our hobgoblins stole back the domain of the lagerboys. But the Government seems hell-bent on putting a hole in a rare industry performer… with ever-more pernicious duties and taxes. Local authorities seem desperate to back their brickbats, with “stings” on some notable real ale champion pubs such as JD Wetherspoon. Indeed, Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin handed the journalists who now run Hand-Pumped a nationwide herogram in front of a million readers, in his Wetherspoon News magazine last year, for helping beat off one such attempt to close down a popular pub for no good reason. Ironically, all these sticks used to beat a reviving industry, are allegedly aimed at targeting “problem drinkers” – which real ale lovers certainly are NOT. So let’s take a look at a few facts, figures and fables from the booming world of real ale. ● There are now 7.8 million cask ale drinkers. Some 37 per cent of them tried it for the first time in the past 10 years, and 10 per cent within the past 12 months ● Among them is a growing number of 18 to 24-year-olds as youth starts to rediscover real beer, although cask ale is still a drink of “grown-ups”… with an upward spiral of discoverers from around the age of 35! ● Distribution of cask ale rose by four per cent in 2010, finding its way into 2,500 new pubs and clubs ● Cask ale drinkers love beer but they’re hardly the fabled “boozers” – in fact, they are more likely to eat pub food with their pint than any other form of drinker ● However, beer duty has risen 35 per cent in the three years to 2011 – with the Chancellor imposing particularly swingeing new duties on high-strength beers ● And pub closures continue to run at an average of 25 per week, showing still a way to go… Present our content with sufficient technical detail to make it invaluable to the brewer, whilst being of consuming interest to the real ale end user – the drinker! But we at Hand-Pumped will shine a torch to light the real ale brewers’ path!