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3/16/2016

Cask Beer: Part One

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Once upon a time, all beer was served with just the natural carbonation that was the byproduct of fermentation. Carbon dioxide is one of the compounds given off when yeast consumes the sugars in fermenting wort. Some of this CO2 is vented off (so excessive pressure doesn’t build up to dangerous levels) while some remains in the beer, giving it a pleasantly soft carbonation.

In the late eighteenth century, chemist Joseph Priestly discovered a method for infusing liquid with carbon dioxide and carbonated water was born. Techniques became more sophisticated and other liquids were carbonated. Over time, the much sharper artificially force carbonated beer in kegs gained ground. But cask beer or real ale remains popular, especially in England.

At the Civil Life, we have served beer on cask from early on and continue to refine our techniques. We try to have beer on cask every day and on weekends often have two cask offerings.

From the drinker’s perspective, cask beer differs from draught in three main ways: the beer is served less cold; it has only soft, natural carbonation; it is (usually) pumped out of a traditional English beer engine (rather than being pushed through draft lines by CO2), giving it a much creamier texture. All of these factors tend to accentuate flavors. Cold temperatures and sharp carbonation blunt the palate. This is why purveyors of fizzy yellow light lager often have signs proclaiming “Coldest Beer in Town!” or some such nonsense. These beers are undrinkable unless served as close to freezing as possible.
On the other hand, our less cold, less carbonated cask ales have pleasantly intense flavors. Bready, biscuity, and caramel malt flavors are richer, and piney, citrusy, spicy hop notes are more pronounced. The mouth feel of these beers is pleasantly full.
Some of our cask beers (like the porter) come off as creamier, more flavorful versions of their draft counterparts, while others (like our bitter) taste very different on cask. These two beers, by the way, are among staff favorites when it comes to cask offerings.

We are currently offering our bitter on cask. The delightful Northern English Brown Ale will be returning soon. Please keep checking with us to find out what’s coming to cask next. And stay tuned to the Civil Blog for updates on our cask program, including an exclusive interview with our Cellarman, brewer Brandon Stern, whose commitment to real ale is nothing short of fanatical. Until next time, drink more real ale!    
~Dr. Patrick Hurley, Barman Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday Nights
 

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    The Civil Blog has returned.  It is predominantly authored by Civil Life Barman, Dr. Patrick Hurley, who can be found tending to our bar patrons on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.  He is also responsible for tending to our draft lines, which is recognized as one of our most important tasks. Special guest writers will appear from time to time. We hope reading this blog will give you much insight about the Civil Life and most importantly help you understand a bit more about all of us that work here and the beers we put our hearts into.  

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Closed Mondays
​Tues to Thurs 4 pm to 11 pm
Friday 12 pm to 11 pm
Saturday 11 am to 11 pm

Sunday 11 am to 9 pm (The last Soup Sunday for 2019 will be Sunday April 14th.  Followed then by tacos.)
DECEMBER HOLIDAY WEEK 
DEC. 24TH OPEN 12 TO 3:00 PM (LIMITED FOOD MENU)
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NO PHONE NUMBER.  
  • ​No Outside Food or Drink please.  
  • Unfortunately, we are unable to handle groups over 12 nor ANY BUS or Limo. It's a pub not the Oscars. 
  •  We have deemed ourselves ill-equipped to handle mean people.
  • We have no interest in over-serving and serving the over-served.  But would love to see you for your first pint or two. 
  • We are however great at handling kind, good hearted people who appreciate good beer and the fellowship of humans.  We were scored A+++++ in this category by real live humans in our latest inter-galactic review. 
  • We'll pour you a sample of any beer we have. We'll treat you well and hopefully you'll come back.
The Civil Life Brewing Co. 3714 Holt Ave. St. Louis, Mo 63116, USA, Planet Earth 
  • PUB
    • BEER ON DRAUGHT >
      • "Bee Civil" Honey Wheat Beer
      • German Wheat
      • Cream Ale
      • India Pale Ale
      • Rye Pale Ale GABF Gold 2014
      • The Angel and the Sword Ale
      • American Brown Ale
      • Black Lager
      • Porter
      • BEERS ON DECK!! >
        • Altbier
        • Extra Special Bitter (ESB)
        • Ordinary Bitter Ale
        • American Stout
        • Circle 7 American Wheat Beer
      • Beers on Vacation >
        • #Carlbock Lager
        • American ESB
        • American Pale Ale
        • American Session Ale
        • Amsterdam Tavern Goal!den Ale
        • Belgian Dubbel
        • Belgian Table Beer
        • Black Ale
        • British Bitter (English Pale Ale)
        • British Mild
        • Burton-on-Holt
        • Civil Common
        • Czech Pilsner
        • Dortmunder Lager
        • Dry Hop Red Ale
        • English IPA
        • English Summer Ale
        • Extra Stout
        • Festival Mild
        • German Pilsner
        • Guerrilla Street Blonde Ale
        • Irish Red Ale
        • Kolsch-Style Ale
        • Lager
        • Merchant Ship IPA
        • Milk Stout
        • Munich Dunkel Lager
        • Northern English Brown
        • Oatmeal Brown Ale
        • Oatmeal Stout
        • Oktoberfest
        • Pale Ale
        • Premium Bitter
        • Proper Pint
        • Ruby Mild
        • Rye Stout
        • Scottish Ale
        • Scottish Export Ale
        • Scottish Style "70 Shilling"
        • Scottish Wee Heavy Ale
        • STL Best Ale
        • "The Great Hencini" Southern English Brown
        • "The Mentor" English Golden Rye
        • UK IPA
        • Vienna Lager
        • Wit Beer
    • CIVIL EATS
    • Civil Wines
  • BEER TO GO
  • Civil Blog
  • About us
    • Contact us
    • Locating Us!
    • EMAIL LIST
    • Social Media Feeds
    • OUR LOGOS
    • Q & A
    • Who Are We?
    • The Civil Solar Panels
    • Employment
  • Donation Requests
  • DO GOODER PIE SALE