Tag: cask ale

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Is Cask Ale Viable?

Here is another BSP, read THIS first, then come back to what my humble opinion is….

….OK, now that you are armed with the latest on cask ales, I would like to add my two cents (depending upon inflation) on the matter.

First, I am a fan of cask ale and I think it is is important that it does not become a museum piece.  But in 2024, looking back, even when craft beer was roaring, it was an oddity, much in the way I think side pour faucets are.  At least, here in the states, brewers are not welded to moldy cellars and no aspirators and can present a product that is consistent at whatever quality level it is at.

The U.S. problem is simply that the styles most suited or traditional in that dispense are just not best sellers and most American breweries would probably make more money buying a slushie machine or Micehelada mix instead.

The British have the extra problem of staying in traditional boundaries of CAMRA whilst also absorbing the extra cost in people power and spoilt beer.  

Not an enviable position to be in.

We can wait for the next generation of drinkers to throw off more drinking shackles of their parents and grandparents and then rediscover cask as a minor rebellion or lean into gimmicky beers in cask or get more casks into taprooms and beer bars so that they are at the very least seen as part of the beer scene.  

This will need to be driven from the brewery side though because I do not see a cask ale groundswell coming.

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A Book & A Beer – This Searing Light, the Sun and Everything Else

It is strange to go back in time and behind the scenes of the musicians that created part of the soundtrack of your teenage years. You sometimes lose the luster of the music to details of private lives. I was a big New Order fan, still am of a range of their music but I did not know how they came to be, their origin story as it were. I got into a slice of Joy Division music and now after the movie Control and the book above, I know more about the people who created the music.

This is not a regular historical account of the Ian Curtis years. It is an oral history arranged in chronological order. All the people involved in the story have their say and you bounce from Bernard (Barney), Peter (Hooky) and Stephen (just Stephen) as the main protagonists as well as the roadies, the manager, the wives and girlfriends and music reviews.

This oral history style is popular on websites talking about films and TV and works to an extent here but I do wish there was more historical data in-between to add some context to the matter. But as a piece of the record (pun intended), it does add to the knowledge base of the band.

I have three ideas as to what to drink with this book. First, find some British cask ale and immerse yourself in Manchester of the late 1970’s. Yorkshire Square and MacLeod’s would be the L.A. options.

Second there is an anecdote in the book about drinking Duvel so that would work and probably get you in the mindset of the devil. And lastly, the new Leaves of Grass series from Bell’s would provide the needed poetry that great music has when it is really working.

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Snap Tin Eatery

On the day before Fireworks/Earthquake Day, I pointed the car south to Torrance and Snap Tin Eatery. Some of the eagle eyed among you may have already guessed that Snap Tin is partnered up with Yorkshire Square Brewery. Now there is a full restaurant alongside the Andy Black English beers on cask (and draft).

I had the chance to speak with Chef Bruno Wu who brought the British inspired menu to life and they are really using beer in a lot of the recipes. More than I have seen in other places and the beer actually comes through in the cooking. But more on that in a future Food GPS post but I will say that maybe you should head to Torrance and watch the US National teams play and have excellent beer and food.

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Yorkshire Squares in Torrance

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Thankfully the latest brewery that I have heard about on the way won’t be in Torrance. It will be in “old” Torrance. Yorkshire Square Brewery will be focusing exclusively on the English-style cask-conditioned beer. Plus they will have food too!

The venture is headed by Gary Croft, a former Leeds, England native. They have also recently nabbed Andy Black as the head brewer. Black, you will recall, started the casks rolling at MacLeod’s before a brief stint at El Segundo.

More news as it comes in. Look for a later this year opening.

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Real Ale + Figueroa Mountain

In two weeks,Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company will unleash the full potential of the cask program that is under the stewardship of Head Brewer of Santa Barbara, Kevin C. Ashford.  Currently all of the Fig Mtn. taprooms have a ““Firkin Friday” featuring many of their standard ales.”

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Now they are going bigger…..

“Wanting to bring more exposure for cask beer to the Central Coast, Ashford and the events team at Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company will be hosting a Real Ale Invitational on Saturday, October 25, 2014 from 1:00 to 4:00 PM. Over a dozen breweries will be showcasing their own styles of real ale at Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company’s flagship brewery and taproom in Buellton, California. Admission is $40 and includes a souvenir glass, unlimited tastings and live music. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Los Padres Forest Watch.

For those beer lovers that want a more intimate experience paired with food, a limited number of tickets will be sold for a Real Ale Lunch prior to the Invitational at 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM. Meet the cask masters who have perfected the skill of brewing real ale while enjoying a 4-course meal prepared by Beto Huizar, Executive Chef of Beto’s Place, a new restaurant slated to open in Fig Mtn Brew’s Buellton taproom later this year. Tickets to the lunch cost $75 and include admission to the Invitational.”

Tickets will go on sale starting August 1st, 2014.

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Firkfest

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Casks in L.A.

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We are awash in IPA’s here in SoCal, but something we could use more of is cask ale.  You see one off’s and anniversary casks but nothing near approaching the level that Britain has.

Into that breach comes:

Cask Ale LA which was started by Aaron Champion. Originally from Toronto, he came to LA back in 2013 and like many others who have emigrated here wanted to have the same beers he had back home.  Now he tracks “down the delicious real ales that he was accustomed to back in Ontario.” So you don’t have to.

Check out Aarons’ blog when you are next on the interwebs.

 

 

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Brewer’s Union Local 180

Some cities and states claim to be the premier beer destination and I don’t doubt their credentials. But for width and depth, the state of Oregon is in a league of it’s own.

Sour ale house. Check.
Belgian. Check.
Cask ale? Check below…

Brewers Union Local 180 is owned by Ted Sobel. His goal is to serve all of his beer, cask conditioned and stored in firkins.

Here is a sample of a past beer list to whet your taste buds:
Wotcha A La Amarillo Best Bitter
Good With Bacon Amber Special Bitter
Cumbrian Moor English Porter
Union Dew I. P. A.
MUTT O. R. A.
Tanninbomb Oak-Aged English Old Ale