World’s first canned real ale, cheered by CAMRA

The “micro-canned​” beer now carries a ‘CAMRA says This IS Real Ale’​ logo on the packaging following testing at the organisation’s Great British Beer Festival.

CAMRA’s quality control laboratory at the festival reported that the beer in Moor Beer cans still contained live yeast. Further test results showed that any carbonation was created by natural secondary fermentation.

National chairman of CAMRA Colin Valentine said: “I’m delighted that we’ve been able to show that ‘micro-canned beer’ under the right circumstances can qualify as real ale.​

‘Pinnacle of brewing skill’​

“This means that more drinkers can get access to what we believe is the pinnacle of brewing skill – live beer which continues to ferment and develop in whichever container it’s served from.”​

Valentine added that similar tests on single use keg beers had been implemented before and had been accepted those as real ale. He hoped brewers will continue to find ways of making real ale accessible to drinkers.

Justin Hawke from Moor Beer said: “I moved to England because of my love for real ale, so when I made the decision to can our beer there was only one way we were going to do it – fully can-conditioned with live yeast. ​

“We invested very heavily in our canning line and process control to get it right, taking a huge risk being the first to go down this path.”​

Environmentally friendly​

Cans make for a more environmentally friendly container said Hawke and the brewery worked to make the outside of the can “as awesome as the beer inside​”.

Meanwhile, the traditional British pub as we know it is on the decline​ and is now being superseded by new types of venues in unconventional spaces, according to findings from CAMRA.

At the same time, alcoholic drinks saw a spike in supermarket sales by 8.5% for the 12 weeks leading to September 11.