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What is Real ale? Real ale is
any ale that has a secondary fermentation in the container from which it is
served. That simply means that that container, be it a bottle, can, or keg,
is packaged with yeast and fermentable sugars inside. In England real ale
generally means cask-conditioned ale. The wonderful thing about cask-conditioned ale is that it is still "alive" when you drink it. It's still fermenting in the keg, and therefore the first pint pulled may be quite different from the last. Over time, fruity notes may increase in a cask ale, adding notes of pear or perhaps berries to the beer. Gritty's quite frequently offers its Best Bitter on cask, and it should not be missed when it is served in this form. It is lightly carbonated, smooth and drinkable, and so biscuity malty as to suggest crunching a handful of fresh pale malt. A touch of buttery Ringwood diacetyl greatly enhances the brew.
Gritty McDuff's Best Bitter in its bottled form (not bottle conditioned here
by the way) pours to a deep golden color with a generous head formation and
sharp malty nose. The palate is crisp, biscuity-malty, toasty, and packed
with mushroomy-buttery Ringwood character. The finish is nicely bitter and
extremely refreshing. This is quite a wonderful ale, and is unfortunately
hard to find outside of Maine.
Great with shepherd's pie, bangers and mashed, or baked macaroni and cheese
with which I enjoyed it tonight.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft
(G)=Growler
