Pinky wrote "Since all my beers were "cask conditioned" it was essential to
keep the
> cellar clean and any spillages made when tapping a new barrel were washed
> away immediately. As I remember I had 3 different types of draught bitter,
> and 1 "mild" ( a dark beer). The draught lager and the Guinness I sold
> were my only preconditioned beers that came in special "kegs" and needed
> CO2 pressure to feed to the bar."

Trevor - I've made ales for years but have always bottled with some sugar to
carbonate. I've read with interest about cask conditioned ales in which no
carbon dioxide was used to fill the void as the ale was drawn from the keg.
This of course exposes the ale to air and subsequent oxidation. I imagine
it took some good planning to keep the beer fresh. How long did it usually
take to empty a cask of ale in your pub. Am I correct that serving real
cask conditioned ale is becoming a lost art in the UK? I keep trying to
brew a proper Mild but mine continue to be thin bodied...any pointers?
Thanks.

Bill Frazier
Olathe, Kansas USA