The Spirit World

Last Saturday at three o’clock the Second Annual Long Island Real Ale Festival tapped off, or I should say tapped on with 15 Firkins of Real Ale — as opposed to Fake Ale? I’m glad you asked.

Real Ale is brewed the same way as any other beer. What makes Real Ale Real is the special way of storing and serving the ale. Real Ale is young beer (beer taken fresh from the fermenter not too long after the yeast have done their work of turning sugar into alcohol) that is transfered into a metal or wooden container called a Firkin. The yeast continues to work away inside the Firkin reducing the residual sugars into more alcohol and producing a mild level of carbonation. When the yeast gives up it collects in the bottom of the Firkin. Real Ale is served directly from the Firkin without any additional carbonation. The serving temperature is between 50 and 57 degrees Fahrenheit. A properly poured Real Ale should be clear even though it’s served unfiltered.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to try all 15 of the Real Ales at the Long Island Real Ale Festival, but the ones I did taste were excellent and refreshing. DJ Swanson of the John Harvard’s Brew House was there with two Firkins, one filled with his El Chupacabra Barley Wine and another filled with Centennial Golden Lager. Also, the Yorkshire Pub Ale from the Southampton Publick House deserves special mention. It was a rich golden red color with a blonde head, extremely thirst quenching with a beautiful balance between sweet and bitter. Some finely crafted beer there.

In addition to the Firkins contributed by Long Island’s breweries (mentioned in a previous post), Olde Saratoga Brewing Company, Clipper City Brewing Company, and the New England Brewing Company each had a Firkin of Real Ale for tasting. Long Island’s own homebrew club, Brewers East End Revival, (an organization of which I am a card carrying member) was represented with two Firkins, a Mild and a Robust Porter.

I’m already thinking about the next Long Island Real Ale Festival and I hope the organizers are, too. I don’t know exactly how many people where there on Saturday, but we managed to empty most of the 15 Firkins by six o’clock. Fortunately, since the Festival was held at the Blue Point Brewery’s tasting room, there was plenty of “regular” beer on tap for the thirsty Real Ale seekers. Next year, I move that we have at least 30 Firkins and more than two port-a-potties.