The 2018 Caskaway Tiki Beer Fest aka Firkfest is in the books.
Here is my beer and photo recap from Anaheim….
I went into the fest with the express purpose of hitting the Orange County breweries that I have not tasted from. So 3 Punk Kids, Towne Park, Stereo Brewing, Lost Winds and Asylum were all tasted. I also snuck in a new beer from Firestone Walker and Los Angeles Ale Works as well.
But the best drinks on the day were beer cocktails. There was a dedicated Orange Count cocktail tent and I had a rum and coke with beer called Midnight Oil as well as a coffee and rum cocktail, a style Coffee Colada with Unsung beer added. Lastly, Beachwood Brewing had a beer cocktail of their own called the Dark & Squally that was really good too. I would have happily camped out to try all of the hourly releases
As to be “expected” now, the location is great, the rain stopped for the day as well. It was easy to get whichever beer was wanted. And the brewery list was well curated. But I seemed to pick beers that were more 2oz sippers and less “go back for more” beers. Firestone Walker’s Corn ‘n’ Oil tasted way too young. Others were fine but even ones that I liked more, had either an ingredient or balance that could have been improved.
I think the Tiki can be stored away and a return to creative casks (maybe IPA only)or a further backtracking to straight up English styles might be in order. But keep the cocktails!