Guess what is back for 2023 and coming next month?
Get your tickets and info HERE. Early Bird prices until the 7th!
It’s Alive
Recap – Firkfest 2018
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!
Tiki-Firk
I have brought it up already, but make sure you get your tickets to the 2018 edition of Firkfest (second year with the Tiki theme).
Need one more reason to come? The OC Bartenders Cabinet will be there making Tiki cocktails.
For 3/11
Constant readers will notice that I don’t go to a lot of festivals. Not nearly as much as my younger days for sure.
But there are a few festivals that are must attend and Firkfest held in March each year, is one of them.
Founder and organizer Greg Nagel has themed this year’s party as “Tiki”. So expect a tropical tour for your tastebuds.
Stop reading and go get your tickets.
FirkFest 2016
Amazingly, there are still tickets available for this year’s rendition of Firkfest in Anaheim! You should remedy that situation and get your admit one (or two) for the 19th of this month. It is money well spent and much better than being in a crowded, rowdy bar on St. Patrick’s Day for sure.
So hop to it and click this LINK to purchase.
Here are some of the breweries whose tents you should visit if you already have your tickets: Bottle Logic, Firestone Walker, Legends (new to me) and Monkish (especially if they have the Spa beer again).
Firkfest Fotos
Year of Podcasts – 4 Brewers
For 2015, I will be reviewing beer-centric podcasts that you should either add to your playlist or not, and our first review is of 4 Brewers.
Here is the description of 4 Brewers podcast from the website:
“Well, in short, we are Four Brewers with a microphone. If you are a person interested in listening to people talk about brewing, tasting blind, guessing beers by reading crappy reviews, brewer interviews, recipe formulation and other fun stuff, this is a perfect match for your ear buds. We’ll be releasing weekly episodes for your listen pleasure. Grab a beer and drink along with us.”
If the two podcasts that I listened to were any indication, then they should also add that it is mostly in-jokes and people talking over each other. I am sure it is a blast to make. All the participants seem to be having a grand old time. But this “old-man” found it to be a bunch of noise and not a lot of information to be found. Not that I need staid news readers informing me brusquely about how to formulate a recipe but it would be nice for the lead host to have a modicum of control and for the podcast to stay on point. Instead of 45 minutes to an hour, it could be a tightly edited 20 minutes?
Maybe other shows are different. Interviews with pro brewers sounds good. But I will be waiting for other people to tell me to tune in.
Firkfest
FirkFest, Orange County’s first cask beer festival, is scheduled for March 22, 2014 from noon to 4.
This new addition to the beer fest scene will be located in the Farmers Park in the Anaheim Packing District located at 400 S Anaheim Blvd, (which was recently talked about in BeerPaper LA).
I will let Greg Nagel the driving force behind this and the OC Beer Blog describe the rest, “Firkfest highlights Old World beer serving technique and blends them with new creativity of today’s burgeoning local craft brewers. Thirty Southern Californian breweries will participate in this unique event that pays homage to how beer has been traditionally served for centuries.
The name Firkfest is a spin on the name “Firkin” which is a 10-gallon cask. A cask of beer is traditionally considered “real ale,” meaning the carbonation is supplied naturally from the yeast finishing secondary fermentation in the vessel. Cask beer is served directly from the vessel in which it finished fermenting and is normally served at cellar temp 50-55F. Cask beer is also a one-time blank canvas for brewers, who typically add specialty ingredients for the one-time serving. The use of extra dry hops, coffee, tea, spices, fruit, and peppers are commonly added to base beers.
“What you drink at Firkfest can never be replicated exactly,” says Nagel.
Restaurants from the much-awaited Anaheim Packing House – ADYA (Indian), The Kroft (specialty sandwiches), Ecco (Italian fare), Wheat and Sons (butcher) – will sell locally-crafted food. The Packing House, due to open Spring 2014, will serve as a culinary center that brings together artisan food producers and purveyors in a public market type setting.”
OC Beer Blog turns 2
This Saturday, July 13, 2013 starting at 4PM, a very special OC Beer Blog and Noble Ale Works collaboration beer will be released! to mark the occasion of two years for Greg Nagel’s blog covering all things beer in Orange County.
This would be a great excuse to visit Noble if you haven’t already. And then you can pepper Greg with questions or just raise a toast. Either/or.