The Masons Arms, Warminster

I feel I need to step in here.
This pub was failed before the current landlord stepped in. He has turned it round and it is positively thriving. Does that tell you something. CAMRA obviously approve.

Real ale is naturally conditioned (cask conditioned), not carbonated. that is what Kegs and most bottles are.

Gravity dispense is the best way to taste our beer. Putting beer through a beerline and pump does several actions (assuming the lines are clean of course). It will agitate the beer. This knocks out the condition, actually making a pint flatter. The same mechanical beasting causes frothing due to proteins and glycoproteins in the beer being driven into the head. This actually makes the beer taste less bitter. Northern breweries design their beers to be more bitter due to the preponderance of swan necks and sparklers there. Aroma is also knocked out by agitation. Swirl a 1/2 pint in a pint glass - you will notice the effect on the aroma released.

There is also the small matter of wastage - a good publican will draw off the first few pumps out of the engine if they have been sitting there overnight - this could be a few pints (depending whether it is a 1/2 pint or a 1/4 pint cylinder and length of line). Plus there will be wastage due to froth spilling over.

We leave the publican to do his job, whether with a traditional cellar or a gravity dispense. All we want is our beer to be served in the best condition possible. If we think our beer is being served badly we consider that to be harmful to our reputation and we will consider whether we want to continue to trade with that pub in the future. We have had nothing but positive reports about the Masons Arms and long may they continue doing what they are doing.

10 Mar 2011 10:03