English cask ale

Enjoyed a casked, pumped Heresy Brown at Wicked Weed last week. The fun part about it was, they had a traditional kegged Heresy on tap as well as the pumped out of a barrel Heresy Brown, so I got to "taste" the difference. And, there was. It really was a bit more enjoyable out of the cask, a bit smoother and a little deeper in taste. I went with the casked/pumped Heresy after tasting both.

 

One of the best beers I have ever had was a hand pull of Cambridge Brewing's Cambridge Calling London Porter which was just AMAZING. They know how to make a great English style ale that is for sure.

Another local brew that is best when it is on cask is Berkshire's Lost Sailor IPA. That English style IPA is just a perfect recipe to be used on cask.

 

They had a bitter that was both on draft and on cask. I tried a pint of both, and ended up going back to the cask because it was markedly better.

Another local beer that was phenomenal on cask for Notch's Cerne Pivo. I had multiple pints of this at Row 34. In fact, it was my favorite beer of 2014 so far.

 

Fair enough - I suppose it depends greatly on where you go.
I generally do go to places that know how to handle it - CBC, Lord Hobo, Redbones, the BBCs (although you have to be careful about how long they've been tapped there) The Gaff (Waltham) Horseshoe in Hudson, John Harvards...
there are plenty of others that don't take care of them right.
I've long ago learned to ask how long the cask has been there, and to ask for a small sample before committing to a full pour. Been burned by week-old beers a couple too many times. Even the good places, once a cask gets to be 4 or 5 days old, it's usually past it's prime, but they don't want to dump a half cask of beer.

 

There is a new brewery that opened up in the greater Los Angeles area that only serves beer on cask.

http://www.macleodale.com/

 

We've had cask ale in Rochester, NY for over 20 years. The Old Toad got it started and has several cask ales on offer every day: http://theoldtoad.com/index.html

And there are cask ale festivals/events held every year in Rochester, Syracuse and Buffalo. Cheers!

 

One cool phenomenon I've noticed recently in trips to Edinburgh and London is the influence of American craft on traditional English cask ale. Two absolutely incredible examples below. This trend does get the CAMRA loyalists panties in a bunch -- but I think it's just another chapter in the history of the amazing tradition of cask ale. Also -- Both cities now have beer bars that are sort of hybrid pub/beer bar. Some great examples to try if u get over there -- Hanging Bat in EDI and Craft Pub and Kitchen and the Rake in London.

 

Daily pint in Santa Monica also has excellent cask ales. Typically they have one or two stone beers on cask. Such a freaking amazing treat!!!

 

Cask hill farmstead IPA at NERAX this past spring. Outrageous combination of brewery and serving/conditioning style. One of the best beers I've ever had.

 

I've never had the Lost Sailor on cask, but last year a few pints of Berkshire Czech Pilsner on cask really blew my hair back.

(In re: the variability of cask handling at local bars, this was at Deep Ellum in Allston, MA, and I've never had a cask brew there that seemed poorly kept.)

 

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet but a brewery called Macleod just opened in van nuys California (2 minutes from me) and this is all they do. I stopped in there this past weekend and enjoyed the experience as well. The beers weren't spectacular but than again I haven't had much experience with cask ale either. I will be frequenting this place because it's local and the beers aren't heavy 3.5-4.5%.

 

For sure. American/New World hops found their way into cask ale a long time ago. Nowadays it's uncommon for a brewery to not make at least one beer with exotic hops. What's great is the beer is still able to retain Britishness, and I don't think CAMRA have a problem with that. Their aversion is more towards the keg/bottle based craft breweries like Brewdog.

 

I just tried a cider from cask. The c-word is verboten here, but does anyone know if there is historical precedence for this or if it was co-opted from beer culture recently? I know nothing of cider.

(This thread winding down on page 2 should indicate to the OP the unfortunate realities of US interest.)

 

go to Philly. they been doing it for years now. and there are other places. sadly all the old posts about this on the board are long gone.

 

If you're anywhere near Denver - this is the spot for English casks: http://www.hogsheadbrewery.com/

 

I remember trying at least one British ale with cascade hops at the Great British Beer Festival in 92. My real first taste of that hop & was blown away...

 

Most of the real ciders I tried in Somerset & Cornwall were gravity poured, but can't swear they all were.

 

You might be surprised, there's a lot of support and love for cask ales here in the US. For a long time I lived next to a brewery that only did cask ales - http://www.brewersunion.com/pub/

If you ever get out that way (Western Oregon), do give them a try. The owner is an absolute wealth of cask ale knowledge.

 

Gawd, I'd be checking out that Burton Ale quick smart.