Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company are now selling what they call Fresh Ales dispensed by real ale handpumps but which are quite simply keg format beers with all of the yeast filtered out.

CAMRA has made a stance and have stated that any pub selling Fresh Ales will not be eligible for entry in the (best-selling) CAMRA Good Beer Guide and they will be blocked from even being considered for any CAMRA beer awards whatsoever.

Carlsberg have had a lot of negative publicity about their deceptive beers but are still rolling them out, seemingly without a care in the world.

A Cumbrian CAMRA branch chairman tells me that they have come across a few pubs selling Fresh Ales and some didn’t even have the correct pump clip which states that these beers are ‘brewery conditioned’. But the term 'brewery conditioned' doesn't mean anything to the man in the street. Better wording would surely be 'Not Real Ale'.

Currently the the names of Carlsberg brewed beers which are available in the Fresh Ale genre are : Hobgoblin IPA, Wainwright Gold and Wainwright Amber.

Needless to say, the reason that they are promoting these beers is because they are idiot proof. and have a longer shelf life than real ale. They can be rolled into a pub cellar, be connected using a standard keg fitting and pulled through to be served immediately.

The downside is that they don’t taste nearly as good as real ales and they are misleading customers into believing that they are buying traditional real ales.

What, may you ask is the significance of filtering out yeast for these Fresh Ales ? Simply this : live yeast and its metabolic by-products are estimated by brewers to contribute up to 70% of a real ale's flavour profile.

The other 30-40% of the taste comes from the other core ingredients : malted barley, hops and what brewers call 'liquor' which is their term for the water used in the brewing process.

I can attest to the poor quality of Carslsberg Fresh Ale : Having been served a pint of Wainwright Gold which was crystal clear but flavourless, I asked the landlord if it was proper real ale. He reluctantly told me that it was a new style of keg beer.

These Fresh Ales should be dispensed by a lager type font in bars, as they are currently misleading customers into believing that they are being served cask conditioned real ales.