Real Ale

Many schools have a wine appreciation society, but few also have a Real Ale appreciation society. This is a great shame, for the range of fine British ales and their complexity of taste is awesome. Many spend their lives gulping down mass-advertised, bland lagers and other keg beers, and have no idea what they are missing.

The Wellington Real Ale Appreciation Society consists of a dozen of the Upper Sixth (Year 13) who meet to sample a range of bottle-conditioned ales over a civilised meal in the convivial surroundings of the Wellesley Dining Room. The beers are discussed, and the Society fills in tasting sheets, and votes on the order of merit of the ales sampled. There is also a brewery trip and talks about ale each year. The Society is run by Mr Matthew Ford, and the members invite guests from Common Room (the teaching staff) to each meal.

Last year, we sampled milds, bitters, golden ales, special ales, porters, stouts, wheat beers and barley wines from Woodforde's, Hogs Back, O'Hanlon's, Fullers, Gales, RCH, Wolf, Ridgeway, Triple fff, Hop Back, Titanic and the City of Cambridge brewery.

In essence, we aim to offer three things for the pupils who join. We demonstrate that alcohol can be enjoyed in moderation, and has a place in civilised society. We spark an interest in our nation's fine brewing heritage, and hope this will stay with the members forever, and that visits to the students' bar at university will not simply consist of downing as much bland lager as possible in the shortest amount of time. Not least, we offer the opportunity for civilised meals and lively conversation as part of the programme of Saturday evening activities.