Real Ale, Pubs, and Pub Companies
Real Ale : Keg Beer and Cask Beer
There are 2 types of beer, "keg" and "cask".
- Cask Beer, or "real ale", is unpasteurised, the yeast in the beer is still alive. When the cask arrives in the pub, its is "vented" to allow a little oxygen in, and a second fermentation starts. This takes about 24 hours, and the beer becomes slightly fizzy. However, once vented, the beer only has a shelf life of about 3 days. Served cool, about 12°C
- Keg Beer, for example lager and many craft beers, is pasteurised, and lasts for a month or more. This means much less wastage, and a pub can have several keg beers on at one time. Carbon Dioxide (fizzy) or nitrogen (creamy) is injected at the tap. Served cold, about 5°C
In similar to the difference between fresh unpasteurised milk stored in the fridge, and long life pasteurised (UHT, heat treated) milk which can be stored at room temperature.
There is also barrel-aged beer, a bit like the whiskey or bourbon process, where flavour comes from previous use of the barrel, popular in Belgium and the USA, but less so here. Now its sped up by using wood shavings and bacteria.
Pubs and Pub Companies
There are about 39,000 pubs, divided in to 3 types:
- a "freehouse" - an independantly owned pub which can serve any beer
- a "tied" pub - a pub opened by a pub company, but leased to or tenanted by a landlord, which sells the pub company's beer. A form of franchise.
- a "chain" pub - a pub owned and run by a pub company, an example is Wetherspoons
So pub companies can either operate or lease out their pubs. Some pub companies operate both models
The largest pub companies are:
| Stonegate | 4,400 | Slug & Lettace, Walkabout, Yates, ... as well as leased and tenanted. |
|---|---|---|
| Star Pubs (Heineken) | 2,400 | mainly leased |
| Greene King | 1,600 | Greene King, Hungry Horse, Chef & Brewer,... |
| Mitchells & Butlers | 1,650 | Toby, All Bar One, O'Neils, Harvester, Nicholson's, ... |
| Admiral Taverns | 1,400 | tied pubs |
| Marston's | 1,400 | a mix of managed, leased and tenanted pubs |
| Punch Pubs | 1,300 | mainly tied pubs |
| Wetherspoons | 800 | all managed as Wethespoons |
CAMRA
CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale has maps of pubs
Smaller Pub Companies
There are many smaller pub chains, some national like Brewdog, with a theme, others more traditional centred around a regional brewery.
Samuel Smith's is one such family owned chain. Mostly historic pubs which sell only their own beer. They are very traditionally run. No phones, laptops, televisions or swearing. The owner has been know to close down a pub on the spot if he doesn't like the way it is run.
Youngs was another chain of 135 or so pubs, beloved by real ale drinkers. When John Young, it's legendery owner passed on, the brewery was sold off, and the now much expanded chain is no longer centred around real ale.