Somthing I have always questioned, can you get a decent pint of cask ale (real ale) on a cruise ship? sounds like a floating prison to me, and there are no walks or cycle rides through the trees, so being able to keep the other half happy, and enjoy a nice few pints perhaps?
Know it can be done where the yeast is in little teabags, or the beer is racked off each day. just wonder if it is done?
Many cruise ships sell ALLEGEDLY cask conditioned beer, but I very much doubt that it is "real" as defined by CAMRA.
Proper real ale contains sediment, and often hops also in the cask. When delivered it is not yet fit for consumption. The casks have to be placed in the pub cellar, and vented which causes a secondary fermentation and gives the beer a modest degree of sparkle and allows the sediment to fall to the bottom of the cask.
I do not think that this could be achieved on board a ship.
I suspect that the beer is specially produced by allowing the secondary fermentation to occur in large tanks or vats at the brewery, the beer is then drawn off, clear and ready for immediate consumption.
Most traditional brewers offered beer "racked clear and bright" for use at outdoor events, parties in private houses, and other situations without a proper cellar and time for secondary fermentation. Also useful for public houses that had run out of beer, since the "racked clear and bright" product could be sold within seconds of delivery without waiting a day or two for it to be ready.
Such beer has very limited keeping qualities and should be consumed within a day or two or it becomes flat and then goes sour.
For use on a cruise ship, such beer would have to be stored under modest gas pressure to keep it sparkling, and prevent oxygen in the air turning it sour.
So not really "real ale" by the accepted definition, but should still be enjoyable.
The extra costs of special treatment would be offset by the absence of excise duty.
