When you hear a beer connoisseur ask if a bar serves real ale, they’re not being snooty. Real ale and cask-conditioned ale are terms that refer to beer in its natural state, without pasteurization or unnecessary carbon dioxide. Though all beers are fermented with yeast, the cells are usually killed off during the pasteurization process. Shipped live, these ales are still fermenting at the bar, gaining extra flavour in the cask. And though the brews go bad in just three or four days—a headache for bartenders—devotees say the smooth texture and rich bouquet make it worth the hassle.

Despite being ubiquitous in Britain and increasingly popular south of the border, real ales are still a rarity in Toronto. “Canadians have been conditioned for generations to like cold, yellow beer,” says Duncan Waugh, manager of the Bow & Arrow pub. But this is starting to change.

Among Toronto’s beer bars, the undisputed cask king is C’est What?, which offers five varieties of cask ale on tap, including house creation Al’s Cask Ale. Dubbing the brews “history in a glass,” managing owner George Milbrandt claims real ale tastes like beer may have centuries ago.

Granite Brewery also makes its own cask products: Best Bitter Special and Granite IPA. “Cask ales are clean, fresh and soft on the mouth,” says owner Ron Keefe.

Real ales are ideal for sipping and savouring over quiet conversation, as opposed to chugging madly while shouting drunkenly. So says Joe Sacco of Smokeless Joe’s, which offers a rotating roster of cask ales, though only one at any given time.

If you’re looking for the full overseas beer experience, try the Irish-themed Cloak and Dagger or the Bow & Arrow—the former has one real cask ale on tap, the latter three. Or visit cozy Dora Keogh, which serves one full real ale and one porter on a hand pump (meaning no gas is added).

Annex beer snobs finally have a chance to convert their wine-drinking neighbours, since the Victory Café recently added a real ale to its rotating repertoire.

But if you can’t convert the oenophiles in your entourage, the Italian Yonge Street restaurant Volo will please everybody. Owner Ralph Morana offers two real ales on tap, but is also a sommelier—proof that real ale drinkers are not your typical lager louts.