Casks?

Two of my local breweries (Dragoon and 1702) have both consistently made really good fresh hopped IPA's on cask, and those recopies are usually considered DIPA's by many and are 7.x%. Dragoon has made some Quads, Stouts and Porter on cask too that were beyond smooth, the Quad in particular was heaven. Once had a Dogfishhead 90 minute served in a small wooden firkin with a wood faucet that was amazing. Also had a couple of Firestone Walker's IPA's and Milds in cask, all brilliant. I always ask how long since tapped when I find a cask, but I order it first anyway no matter the answer.
As for Belgian casks, are those one-way balls considered cask since the air never touches the beer? They are naturally fermented with no CO2 packing it in at kegging from what I have read. Pressurizing the outer shell dispenses it by squeezing the inner liner containing the beer.

 

For cask beer and ale to flourish it seems there has to be a pub culture prevalent. It certainly exists in the UK, though under threat. It seems to exist more and more on the east coast of the US. Ireland would seem ready made for cask but it seems not to catch on there. At least not yet.

In great swaths of the US, it is just not practical. Maybe some technological innovation will allow all of us to enjoy the sublime experience of fine cask ale.

 

The technical innovation already exists.Cooling jackets for example so the cask can sit on the bar.
http://www.pubshop.co.uk/catalog/9g...p-1853.html?osCsid=kl3kjue5etptpui3677p70f0j1
Actually , many if not most pubs in the UK have had their cellars relegated to storage purposes and the beer kept in an air conditioned cool room at ground level close to the bar.

 

Thomas creek has a cask night the last Tuesday of every month and it is freaking amazing. They usually take their normal brews and cask it with something special, one of my favorites was their red ale casked with citra hops. Sorry about my rambling you just need to find some lol.

 

Belgian beers I've had tend to carbonated like crazy (Rochefort 6!!!), so not sure how they'd be on cask. All you really need is a good bitter though (or mild, if that's your thing). Get a nice one in good condition and you won't wish for anything else. It's hard to explain what's so great about it, but great it certainly is.

I guess the American version of bitter is APA, but don't make them too strong, otherwise you won't be able to drink all night!

 

One thing I have noticed is more breweries are brewing bitter and I am seeing more milds. Those styles are conducive to cask.

There is a local brewery here in NWArkansas that brews a real nice keg ESB. Love to see it on cask.

Marquis, the cooling jacket is definitely something that will help. Will it help keep the Ale longer, I fear that there are not many pubs and bars that can turn over 9 gallons in 3 days?

 

Assuming you are ignoring all of German and central European brewing history, then yes, your statement is correct.

 

Indeed. Stating the obvious, at one time all beer everywhere was either in cask or bottled , inns and pubs serving draught beer would have drawn it from the wood.
The UK is perhaps unique in the sense that it can still be found pretty well everywhere you go.

 

Last night at Canal Park Brewing Company I had their Wet Hop ale on cask that was dry hopped with even more Cascade hops. One of the best IPAs I have ever had.

 

I agree. I have also tried some Alagash on cask and it was horrible. I also think American IPAs are wasted when served that way. Mild, bitter, English IPA, and stouts are all great on cask, virtually anything else served that way is a mistake.

 

It's true, the English word "cask" has persisted in American brewing culture rather than the German "Fass". And the English have done a good job at preserving this tradition of fresh, high-quality draft beer. But some of the best "cask-conditioned" beer I've had was in Munich and Bamberg served from wooden vessels containing sublimely delicate and naturally-carbonated Lagers. Go figure. It's all about freshness, and chances are, the cask will be fresher than the keg and/or bottle, but in the event that it is not, then you will be sorry, for sure.

 

Guess I was.

 

I'm in total agreement. Very well stated.

A big part of the problem here is the customer. Most American craft beer fans know cask ales are supposed to be special, but they have little or no experience with properly kept and served ones. They happily accept anything from a cask and don't recognize when it's off or poorly brewed. I've seen some American beer geeks go ga-ga over a wretchedly poor cask ale that I wouldn't touch. They don't want to appear ignorant and think they are supposed to like it, even when it's really unfit to serve. Due to this "I must like all cask" attitude, bars are able to serve inferior cask ales to their customers and the staff are often just as clueless.

 

Totally agree. I have only tried beer on cask enough times, and covering enough styles, to finally believe I am starting to get a clue on why some beers are better that way.

OTOH it has been mentioned here that big beers don't go well in a cask, and I can say that isn't always the case.

 

“ …big beers don't go well in a cask, and I can say that isn't always the case.” I have had higher gravity stouts/porters that were tasty on cask. Big, hoppy beers tend to not do well on cask. I had a beermail exchange with BA tai4ji2x on the topic of hoppy beers and cask. He had an interesting observation that a hoppy beer that was not specifically brewed for cask dispense may not do well on cask but a hoppy beer specifically brewed for cask delivery does taste good on cask. I have had many big, hoppy beers on cask which did not taste at the top of their form (to me); I suspect that I have had hoppy beers that were not specifically brewed for cask but happened to be packaged in cask. I suspect that I have yet to drink a big, hoppy beer that was brewed specifically for cask dispense.

Cheers!

 

I enjoy cask aged beer, it's really a different experience to taste one in comparison to a non cask-aged beer. I recently tried one of my all time favourite beers Flying Monkey's Smashbomb Atomic IPA on tap that was cask aged at a brew pub instead of from a bottle on a shelve, and it was one of the single greatest things I've ever tasted. Whether or not the taste of the beer is complemented by the cask though really depends on the style and the tasting mood your in.

 

My favorite beer on cask is Racer 5. It's a beautiful thing.

 

I once had Tommyknocker's Pickaxe Pale Ale on cask. It was a thing of beauty...

 

No its not.

 

It's very similar. Lots of the subtle flavours and nuances get lost in the bottle. I've had dozens and dozens of beers in both bottle and on cask and in every case though the bottles gave the overall idea of the beer the cask filled in the detail.
This is well appreciated by many brewers who brew a stronger version for bottling.
I gave up homebrewing because though I tell myself I could match pretty well any commercial bottled brew I couldn't achieve the layered complexity and transparency of flavours - the impression of freshness - of the stuff I drank in the pub.