Firkfest

This event stands out on the SoCal beer calendar not only because it is the first one but because of the cask ale angle that is the focus of Firkfest. So I was excited to venture out to the OC for some serious beer geekery.

And there was a delightful array of choices curated by Greg Nagel of the OC Beer Blog on hand

I started with Karma Kolsch with kumquats and Masala chai from L.A. Aleworks then moved on to El Segundo’s Hyperion Stout with rum barrel aging. Down to San Diego and Ballast Point for Sculpin with Wai ti hops.

Bootleggers put their infamous Knuckle Sandwich hop bomb in Rum barrels and Belching Beaver mixed peanut butter with Mexican chocolate. Golden Road had an unnamed pale ale on hand. And I had my first beer from Coachella Valley Brewers. A rye pale.

Lemoncello from the Bruery then Last Flight from nearby Valiant followed by an Amarillo Red from Saint Archer and a chile pale from Bottle Logic. And an apricto Citizen from Cismontane.

And I am still not done! Then it was Haven Brewing with a dry hopped IPL and Eagle Rock with a hoppy Creamsicle. Keeping in the fruit theme, Lizards Mouth from Figueroa Mountain had dried tropical fruit. Then I finished with Manzanita’s Oh Nose Brett IPA and a cask of Simcoe Showers from Noble.

I will discuss what my favorites were and what I thought of the festival in general in a post over on Food GPS in a post this Thursday after I have sifted through my notes and reflected a bit more.  But I can tell you now that this was a really well run and fun festival for a first outing.