Blue Point in Patchogue has continued it's cask beer event since moving to their new brewery. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/20th-annual-cask-ales-festival-tickets-927361853267 Years ago, my wife and I went to Blue Point Cask beer fest at the old brewery. It was a cold February afternoon, and the kegs were set up under a tent in the parking lot, the majority with gravity feed. There was a big crowd, and a variety of beers from Blue Point, other craft brewers, and even homebrewers.
The late, lamented Great Northern had a steady supply of various MH bottles. So, I suspect that next time you're near Burlington, if you were to swing by Garden Path, they'd have bottles to go. Might have something on the handpump too.
So for those that love beer on cask (or had many beers on cask vs bottle/can/keg), are there certain specific beers or styles that work better or worse on cask than from keg or bottle/can? Or tasted better/worse on cask? Just a curious question, I know a few breweries around my area that rotate their standard lineup beers between cask and keg, and some (like an Old Ale and an Irish Red ale), I’ve really enjoyed better on cask, but an English IPA never seems to work for me on cask (enjoy it more from keg).
I haven't experienced a wide variety of styles, but I'm with you about IPAs. The couple times that I've had them on cask were not enjoyable beers.
I have had a few hoppy beers (e.g., IPAs) served via cask and while I thought they were OK/good I prefer hoppy beers served via keg. The beer styles that I think are well suited for cask delivery are Mild Ales, Bitter Ales and Stouts/Porters. Cheers!
Two Hearted on cask was wonderful at the brewery many years ago. I've had some that are excellent in England. The ones that are over 5% ABC and heavily hoped with the English hops.
Yeah, I suppose that I spoke in too much generalities. I don't know if I would have liked the keg version of each IPA that I had on cask, so there's that. I'm picky about liking only certain hops in IPAs, and those IPAs could easily have used hops that I don't like. (I'd love to try Two Hearted on cask, but I don't think Bell's has beer engines anymore to ever have a chance at doing it.)
I think every style works on cask except Hefeweizen. That is too sweet and heavy without the high carbonation. I have had several other styles that are traditionally highly carbonated (Gose and witbier) that worked well, however. I also think hoppy beers can be excellent in cask — cask Sculpin stuck in my memory for a very long time. But they do have to be cold and in good condition, especially if they are in the typical US IPA strength range. The same goes for stronger beers in general which can feel flabby if they're too flat. There's a derivative form of the NE IPA that is now very popular in UK pubs on cask. I don't like them but that’s because I don't like NE IPAs in general.
Always? Maybe if you know a homebrewer who kegs beer and is having a party? I've seen them at a cask beer festival and once years ago at a bar in NYC. Twice in a lifetime for me.
Just back from London and encountered Landlord in a number of pubs. Seems like casks have made a real comeback since the last time I was there 20 years ago. Used the Cask Marque app to locate spots, but it seemed like almost every pub had a cask or two. Landlord was at the top of everything I tried— wonderful beer.
Do any of the breweries/bars in Vermont have cask beer available? I'll be there for a week in September. Thanks/cheers
Last summer when I visited The Alchemist brewery they were serving Heady Topper via a hand pump: I am uncertain whether this beer was a cask beer as in carbonated within the cask (i.e., a secondary fermentation). Cheers!
Was there 2 years ago and it was on cask as well, It was one of those experiences where I really enjoyed an IPA on cask. From what what I recall it was like $5 a pour.
