As with your goodself and Real Ale.

Richard English

Someone sent me a link to a Web site about cask conditioned beers, and it had a couple words I hadn't known. I found that bungs and spiles are stoppers for casks or kegs.

However, I couldn't find the word shire anywhere. What does that mean, related to cask conditioned beers?

The only connection that shire has with drink that I can think of is the Shire horses that were used to pull the brewer's dray. A dray is the cart used to carry the barrels around town and deliver the beer to the pubs. The Shire Horse is an English breed of heavy cart horse. See http://www.shire-horse.org.uk/new_site/ for information on the breed.

Some brewers still keep a few horse-drawn drays but most are motorised these days.

Remember, in UK drinking parlance kegs and casks are not the same. Casks are the barrel-shaped containers used for Real Ale and kegs are the cylindrical containers used for chemical fizz.

A spile is a narrow, conical sliver of wood used to stop a cask; a shive is an alternative word for a spile although it is not commonly used.

Spiles are used on in casks to vent the naturally occuring carbon dioxide; kegs are connected to commercially-produced carbon dioxide cylinders and the chemical beer is forced up to the bar by gas pressure - rather like a giant aerosol spray can.

Beer from casks has to be pumped up to the bar, usually by handpump.

Richard English

Thanks, guys. Unfortunately, I deleted the URL so I don't know the context of the use of "shire." I will see if I can find it.