Key:real_ale
 real_ale
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| Description |
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Used to identify pubs/bars which supply real ale - traditional draught cask beers. Also known as taprooms  
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| Group: food and beverages |
| Used on these elements |
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| Useful combination |
| Status: in use |
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Used in conjunction with amenity=pub or amenity=bar to indicate that the establishment serves "real ale": traditional draught cask beers. Can occasionally also be applied to restaurants. Also known as taprooms.
It is quite common in these pubs to have a board, blackboard or screen where they're listing what they offer. Unlike microbreweries, labeled by microbrewery=yes, these establishments do not produce beer, they only serve it.
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) attempts to define real ale on its website.
How to tag
The simplest is to put real_ale=yes or real_ale=no on the pub, once you know whether they serve it. That amount of detail is fine. But...
To add more detail, there is no fixed standard but a couple of approaches that are common include:
- Tag the number of ales the pub serves, e.g. real_ale=3 - this is a good indicator of how much variety is available, or how "dedicated" to real ale the pub is.
- Tag the names of the ales or the breweries the pub serves, e.g. real_ale=Courage Best, Hyde's. Please note that the exact list of real ales that a pub serves can change regularly (and seasonally), so a list of the exact ale names may be likely to go out-of-date quickly.