Bottle conditioned beers can be a thing of wonder. Living yeast allows further conditioning and/or fermentation and so preserves the beer and possibly adds to its complexity of flavour and aroma. Indeed, some bottles won’t reveal their intended characteristics until after a lengthy ageing period.

But that doesn’t mean that non-conditioned bottles should be written off. Yes, they’re too often the last resting place of poor beers that have had the last vestige of life pasteurised out of them, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Beer can be filtered instead, perhaps even centrifuged, to remove yeast rather than having it burnt out. The challenge lies in maximising the flavour and aroma, making sure that volatile hop nuances aren’t lost in the process.

Thornbridge are looking to introduce a range of beers, carbonated in the tank, that will be centrifuged to as low a yeast count as possible before topping up carbonation as a "bright beer" before bottling. They’re likely to do that for beers best drank fresh, those with lower ABVs and highly hopped beers. Brewdog are investing in light-filtration techniques that will preserve the intense flavours and aromas found in their beers.

I want to see UK brewers learn from continental and US production methods and develop innovative ways of bottling beers with a decent shelf life that's still chock full of tasty goodness. >