NERAX Boston - April 6-9, 2016

Already bought tickets for Saturday day. Pumped!

 

Got tickets for Friday night, going to be an epic weekend with the Lawson's anniversary the next day!

 

Am I correct in seeing that Saturday is the best day for the American cask ales? I know HF has sent casks before--are they traditionally a Saturday offering? Thanks for the info! I am going to make this year my first visit--just trying to make an educated decision about what day to attend.

 

I'm planning on going - I missed last fall due to a 5 month old, hoping to get away for a night or Saturday day session.
NERAX is by far my favorite fest of the year, Great beers, really chill vibe there, not a huge crowd like the big ones.

 

My favorite fest by a long shot. Very bummed I'm going to be out of town and will miss it this year.

BTW - The NERAX Kickoff Party is happening Monday, April 4th at Redbones with 3 English casks. 6pm-8pm with free appetizers.

 

I think the NERAX cellar team taps casks as they become ready so it really is the luck of the draw as to which casks will be available any one session. (And sometimes casks never get tapped if the cellarman judges it not proper) However, they do a great job of having a wide variety of casks available at each session including American, UK and (occasionally) German.

You really can't go wrong at any of the sessions. Check their twitter feed for up-to-the-minute info on tappings and kickings during the fest.

If you want some hard data, here are the HF casks I've sampled at past NERAXes: Edward (2012 Saturday evening session), Simcoe Single Hop (2014 Wednesday evening session), Edward (2015 Saturday evening session). But there may have been others during sessions I did not attend.

 

Can't wait for NERAX. Had the HF Simcoe in 2014 -- real nice blend of modern NE style w/ old world cask presentation. Sadly -- my sources tell me HF won't have a real ale at this year's fest.

 

Just to add to the thread, I've only gone Saturday days (multiple times, too many to count) and I've never seen Hill Farmstead.

That being said, if it's there, cool, but if not there's always plenty of awesome options available. In my opinion this isn't necessarily a festival you go to to seek out popular American brews. The highlight is the UK casks, skillfully handled, in great shape. You can drive a few hours north and get Hill Farmstead or go to Armsby Abby. To get UK casks of this quality you'd have to buy an expensive plane ticket and travel overseas.

To echo the others, it's a crap shoot, and even if they predict a specific cask will be on, there's no guaranteeing it will be ready that day, if at all. Pick the day/night which fits your schedule the best and enjoy!

 

Yes to the above, go to try things you can't get without extreme traveling. In addition to the beer, don't ignore the ciders (in past years the Welsh ciders they've brought over have been absolutely unique and amazing). Also definitely try any German casks they get (I found zwickelbier from a gravity cask to be a life altering experience). Personally, I don't think the hoppier American IPAs lend themselves to cask anyway.

 

HF will be there.

 

I'll be there Friday and Saturday, and perhaps Thursday, too. I don't think I'll make it Wednesday.

It is a great event that I look forward to each year. Have a few pints with friends.

 

I guess you've never tried Jack's Abby House Lager then. Here's hoping they package in cask for special occasions.

 

Definitely my favorite festival of the year. I was skeptical about the Lithuanian Club, but it really is a great space. I also agree that you're much better off choosing a random British bitter, ESB, or mild than trying your favorite American offering in cask form. Cask lends itself to certain styles that just aren't that popular in the States.

All that said, I noticed that there has been a jump in the imperial pint / half pint / quarter pint pricing. I have the utmost faith in the folks running NERAX and I'm sure the cost increase is necessary to cover expenses, but it is unfortunate. Eight dollar pints (nine with tip?) really takes the fun out of things...

 

Friday tix purchased. NERAX #6 for me

 

I hadn't noticed the prices rising. Given that the whole affair is volunteer driven -- my sense is the prices are set to cover costs. Hall rental costs, promotion, casks/beer procurement, serving and chilling equipment (a single beer engine like they use at the bar is $850 new), permits/insurance perhaps etc etc. are not cheap for an event of that size. I'd gladly pay $8 or more for a pint for an authentic cask fest experience which is extremely rare outside the UK.

 

I dont think it's uncommon to pay $6-8 a pint around London so maybe NERAX is a good deal

 

Any major disadvantages to the Wednesday session? Never been to this event before, and that might be my best chance to do so.