The Real Ale Fest isn’t just for beer snobs. It’s a great (and pretty cheap) way to taste more than 200 handcrafted beers from breweries as far away as England and as nearby as Chicago’s Goose Island.
Ray Daniels, who hosts the seventh annual Real Ale Fest this weekend, edits two brewing magazines; runs the Association of Brewers’ book publishing division; has written four books on beer and brewing; and has graduated from Chicago’s Siebel Institute of Technology, recognized internationally for its brewing programs.
Q: What is “real ale”?
A: It’s beer served the way it’s served in an English pub: at cellar temperature–cool but not cold–and it’s more lightly carbonated than a traditional American beer. That’s also what makes it such a flavorful product. When you increase the temperature, the flavors become more available on your palate. Carbon dioxide [which is forced into most mass-produced beers] is a masking agent. It tends to have a dry, prickly bite that can keep you from enjoying the other flavors of the beer.
Q: What’s the appeal?
A: It’s as fresh as a beer can possibly be. And, because it’s fresh and unfiltered, it is the most flavorful and most exquisite glass of beer you can get.
Q: Why have bars gotten away from serving real ale?
A: Because it’s a pain in the butt. It’s difficult to keep and serve real ale. Once you start serving from a cask, it goes bad after two days, three days at the most.
Q: What beers do you buy at the supermarket?
A: Goose Island Honkers Ale and Bell’s Two Hearted Ale.
Real Ale Fest takes place 4-10 p.m. Friday, and 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. and 6-11 p.m. Saturday at Finkl Foundry’s Jarrow Building, 2000 N. Southport Ave. 773-665-1300. Tickets are $12.50 in advance, $15 at the door.
