True or false? Wine is “sophisticated,” beer’s blue-collar; winemaking’s a craft, beer is an industry; wine is delicate, beer’s robust.

If such notions persist, it’s because there’s a fair amount of truth to them. Most beer today is an industrial product, pasteurized, filtered, manipulated to make it cheap and easy to ship, store, and consume. But next weekend, more than 40 Washington breweries will be offering Seattle beer fans an opportunity to experience beer as it was before railroads, refrigeration, and multinational marketing turned it into a product as standardized as processed cheese.

Brewers learned over 500 years ago that cool temperatures gave them more control over their product, but it was machine refrigeration—and cheap glassware—that really revolutionized beermaking. Chilling the mush of water, hops, and malted grain persuades the yeast driving fermentation to sink to the bottom of the vat.

In an earthenware mug, color wasn’t important, but in clear glass, the golden liquid produced by “bottom fermentation” looked prettier than (comparatively) dark, cloudy “top-fermented” ale. Next came filtering, then pasteurization, to ensure the product could be shipped round the world without losing flavor—what flavor remained after pasteurizing, that is.

“Real beer” isn’t pasteurized; it can’t be. Commercial beer gets its carbonation artificially, from a tank of high-pressure carbon dioxide. Cask-conditioned beer gets a dose of sugar that drives a second fermentation, which gives true ale a natural fizz. And real ale is “filtered” only by gravity. That’s why a keg has to rest a while before being tapped: to allow the remaining yeast cells and other sediments to settle.

And once tapped, it’s got to be drunk; a couple of days and the brew loses it fizz and freshness. Given its perishability, real ale these days is a “niche product.” But niche products of all descriptions are flourishing, as consumers begin considering purity and character as well as price before they buy. Maybe one day we’ll see again what used to be routine in English towns and villages: dropping into the pub to pick up a pitcher of the old nut-brown for the family supper.

The Washington Brewers Guild Cask Beer Festival takes place Sat., Oct. 27, in the Alki Room at Seattle Center. Two sessions, noon-4 p.m. and 6-10 p.m.; admission to either, $25. Advance tickets available at Hale’s Ales, Elliott Bay Brewing, and Elysian Brewing, or at www.ticketweb.com. For more information: www.washingtonbrewfest.com.

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