Real Ale in a Bottle

EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT REAL ALE IN A BOTTLE

WHAT IS REAL ALE? | WHAT IS REAL ALE IN A BOTTLE? | IS IT BETTER? | ARE THERE ANY OTHER ADVANTAGES? | IS IT NEW? | WHO BREWS REAL ALE IN A BOTTLE? | ARE THE BOTTLE VERSIONS OF WELL KNOWN CASK BEERS REAL ALE IN A BOTTLE? | IS IT JUST BRITISH? | AREN'T ALL FOREIGN BEERS LAGERS? | HOW CAN YOU RECOGNISE IT? | HOW TO POUR IT? | CAN THE SEDIMENT BE DRUNK? | WHERE CAN YOU BUY IT? | WHAT ARE THE BEST KNOWN EXAMPLES?

IS IT NEW?

At one time, all bottled beer was real ale, as the techniques to filter, pasteurise and sterilise are fairly recent innovations.  Even half a century ago, most bottled beers would have been real ale.  As brewery rationalisation and the trend towards keg beer gathered pace in the 1960's, all real ale fell out of favour with many breweries.  The decline continued, such that by 1984 CAMRA's Good Beer Guide listed just four British bottled real ales, plus one widely available import.

 Courage Imperial Russian Stout, brewed at John Smiths in Tadcaster, was a very strong  (11% abv) stout.  It was brewed occasionally before finally being dropped.  Each batch was dated, the last was in 1993, but you may still see bottles on sale.

 Thomas Hardy Ale, the country's strongest naturally conditioned bottled beer (12% abv) was originally brewed by Eldridge Pope.  Having closed their brewery, the beer fell by the wayside but has recently been revived by O'Hanlon's of Devon.  A favourite in many countries, much of the beer will be exported to the USA.

 Gales Prize Old Ale (9% abv) was the UK's only naturally-conditioned beer sold in a corked bottle.  It's still going strong today, proving if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 Worthington White Shield (5.6% abv) used to be available in most Bass pubs and many others.  It has faced an uncertain time over the last 20 years, having moved from its Burton home to several other breweries.  A couple of years ago, it moved back to Burton and is now brewed in the brewery at the Bass Museum, which is part of the Coors group.

 Guinness Extra Stout (4% abv) was brewed in Dublin and imported to the UK.  It meant there was something worth drinking in just about every bar in the UK.  Sadly, Guinness couldn't see the light for the dark, and withdrew this fabulous real ale in a bottle a few years ago.  It was replaced by a filtered, pasteurised version, although other real variants continue to be exported elsewhere in Europe.

 Over the last 20 years, the trend has reversed.  A similar list from the 2004 Good Beer Guide, it would run into 100's of bottled real ales.