NERAX (2019)

spring fest is on -- they lost their Salem venue for North last year and I think that is why it didn't go down.

 

Confirmed NERAX is on for April 3-6 at the Lithuanian Club in Southie. They are working on getting the site back up. Cheers to cask ale!!

 

Awesome.

For the curious, they did have a little "mini winter Nerax" this year in Watertown since the Fall version was canceled. I don't know how widely advertised it was - I only knew about it since I was on the volunteer list that got mass emailed. I didn't end up being able to go, but I was intrigued that there was a dark mild from a local brewery I've never heard of (Small Change) on offer.

Did anyone here go?

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Winter Cask Ale Party in Watertown!
Bummed there was no NERAX North this year? Me too. Let's get together, drink some cask ale, and reminisce about the festival that wasn't! There'll be another big NERAX coming up in April, so we have that to look forward to. This little night might be just the ticket to whet your whistle.

We're expecting to have 2 UK beers and 4 pins of local fare. The current beer list is on the ticket website (click the banner above!)

Friday, 7 December 2018
6:30 PM - 10:30 PM
Canadian-American Club of Massachusetts
202 Arlington St, Watertown, MA 02472

UK
Fyne Ales - Mills & Hills (9.4% Imperial Stout collab w/ DeMolen of Belgium)
Treboom - Kettle Drum (4.3% Best Bitter)

GR
Weissenohe - Benediktiner Zwickel dry-hopped with Polaris (4.8% hoppy lager)

US (Boston)
Bone Up Beer - Shut Up, Kelly! w/ Amandine-soaked oak chips (6.3% Robust Porter)
Down the Road Brewery - Likely an IPA/DIPA but maybe a saison
Idle Hands Craft Ales - 34 (6.7% Robust Porter in honor of Mr. Ortiz)
Small Change Brewing - The Future is Unwritten (3.1% Dark Mild)

 

I was able to go. I'm not sure this was a NERAX sponsored event, but there were many familiar faces and it was run much like NERAX on a small scale. Tickets were $25 which included a $5 refundable glass deposit and six half-pint beer tickets. I do not believe there was any way to purchase additional beer tickets. The setup was similar to NERAX with some seating around the perimeter and no tables. Food offerings were Hot Pockets and microwave burritos(!).

The German cask kicked in less than an hour and all seven of the offerings were finished well before the 10:30pm end of the event. I wasn't able to try the Zwickel or Small Change's Mild, but, for me, Bone Up's rich chocolatey porter was a standout. All in all I left a happy camper!

 

Whether or not they sponsored it, that is brilliantly in keeping with the DIY vibe of Nerax

Thanks for the onsite reporting!

 

I was thinking about NERAX myself last week and noticed their site was down. I sent a message to the folks who run it they were surprised. Also had confirmed the dates as above.
Looking forward to it - NERAX is my favorite fest by far.

 

YES!

 

The beer drinkers beer fest.

 

I mostly go for the hot pockets.

 

Haha, that was the fake NERAX.

Real NERAX has Redbones.

 

REAL NERAX is at the Dilboy VFW in Davis Sq. All others are wanna be’s!

 

Ha, as much as I miss that venue...I don't.

 

Food stole the show last year. I get the "purity" of the whole thing, but I just cant enjoy flat and warm beer. Maybe it's just conditioning.

But the people who run the event are top notch people, enjoy their craft and I'll probably wind up going this year too.

 

What was the food?

I never eat there, I head to Worden Hall afterwards.

 

I totally understand your feeling. I kind of feel that way about anything that looks roughly yellow or golden. Once you get a bit of darker malts in there though I really appreciate what the cask brings to the table.

And yes the people who run it are just amazingly friendly and excited to share their love of cask beer. There was not one whiff of exclusivity or "I'm-caskier-than-thou" chest thumping. It's a very welcoming atmosphere for novices (which I was my first time, and really still am).

 

I understand what both of you are saying, but it's really not flat at all, just naturally carbonated. Plenty of head on the beers I receive. And they're not really warm either, just cellar temp.

It definitely works better for some styles than others, which is why I mostly stick to UK session ales.

 

To be clear I don't find the lighter ones warm or flat per se, I just find myself thinking "I'd like this better regular style". That's where I understand OP and others not loving them.

When it comes to the darker ones, I don't understand what the hell they're complaining about

 

I strongly dislike hoppy beers (American ipas) on cask. But, I love ESBs and other more mild British style beers. I get how people can be turned off by cask, definitely took me sometime to get it, I just needed to find the right styles.

 

I hear you there. As much as I miss the location - heading out, stopping at Downtown, then a big ol' burrito at Anna's (and hoping people don't spill their sides on me...)
I don't miss that venue at all. Small, noisy, the staircase to the bathrooms (AKA the other 12 steps to sobriety) in which the one by the window was always locked off...
I do like the Lithuanian Club - nice big room, clean, I like having the second floor when it's available - I don't like the parking (or lack thereof) or the lack of fairly inexpensive eats nearby.
I've been going to the fest 18 or so years now, (I think) and have watched it expand, and improve every year. The early years I went when there was the band at the Dilboy, having to get a full pint, then immediately go to the back of the line for your next; even going slow it'd take 45 minutes to get through the line. They got rid of the band, they put in attendance limits. etc.

 

They're not "flat" I get it, but when we're conditioned (pun yay) to experience beers over 2,0 volumes of Co2, having beer at roughly half that level seems more of a flaw, even if its what the intent was.

Also, if I remember correctly the hall last year was damn hot, and Im not sure the coolant blankets on the firkins really kept anything at a legitimate 50-55 degrees. I wont pretend to have anything more than a novice level of knowledge on cask ales.

The beers I enjoyed were the milds and the higher alcohol beers that are generally lower in carbonation. And I guess that's the art of it. A lot of breweries seemed to take one o their more popular beers and just cask it.

 

And that’s why NERAX is great. Anyone looking to get into cask ales should go. You won’t like everything, but you’ll almost always find something that “clicks”.

And you’ll never find anywhere else where you can be sure the casks are properly take care of....and you get to have UK ales.

Much better than paying out your ass at a bar who treats cask as some novelty and charges a premium for an oxidized mess past its prime.

 

Right there with you. American hoppy beers are definitely my least favorite style on cask.

And good point on taking things on a style by style basis.

 

I like traditional but also love American craft born styles on cask — a Citra hopped pale ale for example - is awesome served as real ale IMO. The temp and light carb make the hop flavors and subtleties just pop. This is more than a trend now in the UK as the style boomerang has really taken hold especially with all young start ups (for those that even bother to do cask vs force carb. The result is more variety for the punter.

 

Yeah, I'm quite fond of more delicate <4% golden ales lightly hopped with nouveau-hops on cask. Something like Jarl on cask is majestic, but obviously different from a pint of Doom Bar.

 

Ticket sales are open. I'm in for the Saturday afternoon session.

 

I'm still working on negotiations with SWMBO on when I'm going.
Starting a new job this week, so part will be what my hours will be for that - I've mostly gone Friday evening, sometimes others as well.

 

In for the Friday session. I can't believe I've been going to this for 10 years! Even while living in Portland, OR - I'd schedule trips back home around the NERAX festival. #priorities I guess.

 

Well, it's the best beer festival in the country. Understandable.

 

I remember going to the Hood River Hop festival several years ago. It was great, for like 4 beers. Then I could no longer taste bitter...

 

Sounds like they're having a bit of trouble gathering up enough volunteers this year. If you've ever thought about it, I can't recommend it enough. It's super easy and fun and everybody is extremely grateful and friendly - you don't need to worry about knowing a lot about cask beer or meeting some sort of dedicated nerd quotient. And yes, you can drink free beer (and eat free food) during your shift. Well, during the 15 minute breaks you get every hour anyway

Link to volunteer form here: http://nerax.org/wp_nerax/home/volunteer/

From an email from the organizers:

"Greetings fellow cask beer aficionado: We wish to thank those who have committed to assisting at the 2019 NERAX Classic. This is not a confirmation; those will go out late next week. In my sub-address book I find it too difficult to separate those who have volunteered from those who haven't.

Our volunteer numbers are disconcertingly low, with only Saturday #1 close to our target. <please access the form> on the NERAX website. Once again, a NERAX turns its' lonely eyes to you."

 

HOnestly, I see that same email just about every year.
There's never enough volunteers, but it works out anyway.
I've worked it before and it is a lot of fun; I just can't do it this year. Between only having one day to be able to go and a longish trip to get there, it's not in the cards. I would do it again, though.

 

I don't recall seeing this message the last couple of years, but hopefully you're right that this is just par for the course. My history doesn't go back further than 2016.

 

Notch’s Gates of the West (best bitter) is on cask at Row 34 and tasting exceptional.

 

Anyone tried to get tickets online lately? I'm having trouble getting into the website. I keep getting a "database error."
I am planning on going Friday night, BTW. Worked out that negotiation.

 

I swore to myself I was only going to attend two NERAX sessions this year, but now I seem to have booked myself for three sessions. #caskaleproblems

 

Chopper’s got it under control.

 

According to FB, the NERAX kickoff party will be Monday from 6pm-8pm at Redbones. I haven't been to the kickoff in a couple of years, but in the past they have had 3-4 casks flowing and at least one of them has been from the UK. Cheers!

 

Countdown !!!

 

Mother firkin' NERAX!