Basic Guide to Setting Up Real Ale in Pub Cellars

Setting up real ale correctly is essential to ensure the quality of your beer. This guide is designed for use with standard cask taps and is not suitable for upright syphon rods.

Step 1: Racking

• Positioning: Upon delivery, stillage casks level and secure them to prevent movement.
• Why It’s Important: Level racking allows sediment to settle at the bottom of the cask. Avoid tilting forward, as this can cause sediment to gather near the cask tap, leading to cloudy beer during dispense.

Step 2: Venting

• Timing: Vent the cask on the day of delivery, ideally a few hours after arrival to allow settling and cooling.
• How to Vent:
  1. Ensure the shive and venting hole are clean.
  2. Use a hard peg or venting tool to make a hole in the shive.
  3. Insert a soft wooden peg loosely to allow fermentation gases to escape.
  4. When fermentation stops (no bubbling), replace the soft peg with a hard peg until ready for sale.

Tip: If pressure builds behind the hard peg, return to a soft peg for a little longer.

• Hygiene Note: Use wooden pegs only once to avoid contamination and dispose of them after use.

Step 3: Tapping the Cask

• Preparation: Clean the keystone and sterilise the cask tap.

• Tapping Steps:

  1. Remove the hard peg.
  2. Partially open the cask tap and use a wooden mallet to knock it through the keystone.
  3. Allow the cask to settle again.

• Quality Check: Sample the beer from the cask tap into a glass to inspect:

  • Clarity: Should be clear.
  • Taste & Smell: Must meet your quality standards.

If the beer passes these checks, it’s ready to be connected and served.

By following these steps, you’ll ensure that your real ale is served in top condition, delivering the best experience to your customers.