Do they use fish somewhere in the process for making cask ale beer?
Yes. It’s not fish bones, however. It is made from the swim bladder of fish and is called finings or sometimes isinglass, though it is NOT the same as the chemical which used to be used for preserving eggs . “Finings (the term is a mass noun rather than a plural) is a substance used to aid the clearing of beer, particularly cask ale. One of the defining characteristics of real ale is that it is not filtered or pasteurised, so that the live yeast remains in the container from which it is served. This allows secondary fermentation to continue and more complex flavours to develop. Actually drinking this yeast, however, would be somewhat unpleasant, and so it is necessary to gradually remove it from the beer before it can be served. This is the purpose of finings. Finings is a thick liquid, usually made from the swim bladders of fish although alternatives exist. Around a pint per 9-gallon firkin is added to the beer, invariably these days at the brewery when the beer is racked into the cas
