Dispense
Cask, gravity-dispensed
Cask beer poured straight from the tap under gravity, with nothing between the cask and the glass.
Also known as stillage, gravity pour.
What it does to the beer
- The cask is tapped directly and beer flows under gravity alone, with no pump and no sparkler.
- Produces the gentlest possible presentation, with minimal head and the softest condition — the traditional serve at beer festivals.
How it is served
| Container | cask |
|---|---|
| Gas | None — the beer moves under gravity or its own condition |
| Temperature | 11–13°C |
| Carbonation | 0.8–1 vol CO₂ — volumes of CO₂ |
Temperatures are ranges with reasons, not targets. Cellar temperature in a British pub is a band that varies with the beer and the weather, and a degree either way is not a fault.
Styles served this way
- Altbier
Düsseldorf’s copper-coloured hybrid: ale-fermented and cold-conditioned, with firm bitterness over nutty, toasty malt.
- Festbier
The golden, stronger lager actually served at modern Oktoberfest — malt-forward and smooth, but pale rather than amber.
- Kellerbier
Unfiltered, gently carbonated lager served young from the cellar, with a soft yeasty fullness filtration removes.
- Kölsch
Cologne’s pale hybrid beer: ale-fermented then lagered, giving lager clarity and crispness with a whisper of fruit.
- Lambic
Spontaneously fermented Belgian wheat beer, matured in oak for years — funky, acidic, dry and unlike any other beer.
- Ordinary bitter
The everyday British cask ale: low in strength, gently bitter, and built to be drunk in pints over a whole evening.
- Rauchbier
A Märzen-based lager brewed with beechwood-smoked malt — intensely smoky, often compared to bacon, over a clean malt base.
- Sahti
A Finnish farmhouse ale filtered through juniper branches and fermented with baking yeast — banana, juniper and no hops.
Other ways to serve beer
- Bottle conditioned — Beer refermented in the bottle with added yeast and sugar, producing natural carbonation and excellent ageing potential.
- Bottle, filtered — Filtered, force-carbonated bottled beer — bright and consistent, but less resilient with age.
- Cask, hand-pulled — Beer that completes fermentation in the cask and is drawn by hand pump without added gas, served at cellar temperature.
- Keg, CO₂ dispense — Filtered or unfiltered beer force-carbonated and dispensed under CO₂ pressure — the standard modern draught format.
- Nitrogen dispense — Dispense with a nitrogen-CO₂ blend through a restrictor plate, giving a dense creamy head and a notably softer palate.
- Tank beer — Unpasteurised beer delivered fresh to venue tanks — the Czech format that shows a pale lager at its best.
Compare dispense methods directly on the comparison index, or read how packaging affects freshness.
Last reviewed 2026-08-15.