Here's to alcohol, the cause of-and solution to-all life's problems.
I wanted to alert the beer drinkers on my friends list to NERAX the New England Real Ale Expo. It takes place at the VFW in Davis Sq Somerville, May 2ond through the 5th. library_sexy are currently planning to go on Friday the 4th and maybe again to the Saturday afternoon session if anyone wants to join us
Here is the deal. You pay to get in (price varies based on the night or day that you go) and you put down a deposit on a glass (real ale is not to be drunk from some plastic cup) which you can get back when you return the glass. Once inside you are faced with a long bar with people standing in line to get at the 80 or so firkins (which is what a proper Ale keg is called) of beer from some of the finest breweries on either side of the Atlantic.
What is real ale you ask... well I suggest you check the website for their more complete answer to to that question but basically Real Ale is British style ale, it is served warm (or just below room temp) and rather than using pressurized CO2 to push the beer it is either pumped with a beer engine or gravity dispensed. The firkins (kegs) do get regular old air in them so over time the beer will go stale, but for the few days that a festival like this is going on the oxygen getting into the beer will actually bring out a lot of the subtle flavors that are lacking in many modern beers, in particular the floral tastes and smells of hops.
Also Real Ale is alive in that it is unfiltered, contains active yeast and has been naturally carbonated in the firkin.
Library_sexy and I went to this event last year and we had a great time. The people were friendly and the beer was fantastic. While the VFW might not be the most natural pub like environment around the ability to try so many different and hard to get ales was well worth the price of admission. If your a beer fan, you don't want to miss this.
Hope to see some of you there.
Here is the deal. You pay to get in (price varies based on the night or day that you go) and you put down a deposit on a glass (real ale is not to be drunk from some plastic cup) which you can get back when you return the glass. Once inside you are faced with a long bar with people standing in line to get at the 80 or so firkins (which is what a proper Ale keg is called) of beer from some of the finest breweries on either side of the Atlantic.
What is real ale you ask... well I suggest you check the website for their more complete answer to to that question but basically Real Ale is British style ale, it is served warm (or just below room temp) and rather than using pressurized CO2 to push the beer it is either pumped with a beer engine or gravity dispensed. The firkins (kegs) do get regular old air in them so over time the beer will go stale, but for the few days that a festival like this is going on the oxygen getting into the beer will actually bring out a lot of the subtle flavors that are lacking in many modern beers, in particular the floral tastes and smells of hops.
Also Real Ale is alive in that it is unfiltered, contains active yeast and has been naturally carbonated in the firkin.
Library_sexy and I went to this event last year and we had a great time. The people were friendly and the beer was fantastic. While the VFW might not be the most natural pub like environment around the ability to try so many different and hard to get ales was well worth the price of admission. If your a beer fan, you don't want to miss this.
Hope to see some of you there.