
The process for getting bottled or canned beers accredited as Real Ale in a Bottle/Can (RAIB/RAIC) is simple.
Breweries seeking accreditation will need to send at least two bottles from the same batch to Brewlab in Sunderland (address below) immediately after bottling/canning, together with the present gravity figure at time of packaging.
They will check for viable yeast cells on one at the start of conditioning and, if within range, the 2nd will be checked 10-14 days later to see if the yeast has continued to work on the residual fermentable material and reduced the gravity.
The yeast count has to be a minimum of 100,000 live cells/mL. If it passes breweries can get the accreditation logo from Ellie Hudspith at CAMRA HQ and it will cover all bottled or canned beers containing live beer from the brewery produced by the same protocol.
The details of where to send the samples are:
Alison Hedley, Brewlab Ltd, Unit 23, Business Innovation Centre, Wearfield, Sunderland Enterprise Park, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, SR5 2TA
The charge is normally £15 + VAT but this will be covered by CAMRA NI.