The Beer Thread • Page 40

Is it beer that's meant to be served on cask?

 

I don't watch reviews, but I do listen to the Brewing Network style shows where they do tastings of top commercial examples in each style, describe them, and rate them. They also discuss the style generally, and give tips on how to brew beers in that style.

 

Here's a good rundown of it all

Cask Ale: Draught Beer At Its Best | CraftBeer.com

 

I know what it is, but I've seen places try to cash in on the trend of serving beers on cask and take beers that weren't meant to be served that way and try to make it happen. It's like serving a beer on nitro that the brewer didn't design to be served on nitro.

 

Ooooooh, yeah I'm not sure which beers are meant to be served that way or not, but some reputable bars and breweries have been doing it and every time I'm just not really a fan

 

Typically they should be beers that are meant to be served a little bit warmer (so ales, generally, but especially darker styles) and at a lower level of carbonation, which often means lower alcohol beers. A lot of British styles – milds, bitters, porters, dry stouts, etc. – are well-suited to being served on cask. But I've seen breweries do it with all sorts of styles that don't make sense, like a 9% double IPA.

 

Nice. I'll have to check it out.

 

One of the best casked beers i've ever had was Bear Republic's Racer 5 at some bar in NYC (don't remember the bar's name; i was up there for the Anberlin final tour and a bunch of us just went to some place a couple blocks from the venue to kill time before their set)

 

Was it a special version of the beer produced by the brewery for cask?

Part of the appeal of cask beer is that it's usually super-fresh, and can be dry-hopped in the cask, but the low level of carbonation is generally not suitable to styles like IPA's.

 

that i have no idea. this place was definitely a solid beer bar w/ a great selection. I chose the Racer 5 b/c i'd never seen an IPA on cask before and just had to try it.

 

Very interesting! Maybe I'll have to re-think my position of IPA's on cask. I've tried a few and they've not been good, but the cask-appropriate beers I've tried from the same places have typically been good.

Maybe in this case the freshness of the IPA, and the freshness of the dry hops, offset the lack of carbonation. Although I would hypothesize that a properly carbonated Racer 5 that was just as fresh would have tasted even better

By the by, how good is Racer 5? I think it's a too often overlooked beer.

 

agreed. maybe it's b/c we're in a beer world where whales are the holy grail these days (don't get me wrong, i love me a good whale, too - even was fortunate enough to get the Apple Brandy-aged Vanilla Marshall Zhukov at Hunahpu's Day), but there are amazing easy to find beers out there. Racer 5 = classic in my book.

 

I've had a few Jai Alai treatments on cask and they've all been solid that I can recall.

I've been trying to remind myself of this for the last year or so. I've drank so many amazing beers over the years, and as it gets harder and harder to get certain things I'm trying to just give up on the chase (not on everything, of course, but just not making it a high priority on everything I think I want) and try to embrace the great beer I have easy access to.

 

Can't keep up with this thread, but just want to pop in and say it's awesome that there's so much discussion going on here -- the AP beer thread got kinda stale

 

Yeah, I'm trying to get away from chasing whales, which shouldn't be too hard since I won't have the time or money soon enough. There are so many good every day beers that I need to stick to and when I happen across something special on occasion, grab it.

I think it was all the snobbery.

 

Anything that sixpoint brewing makes.

Plus I've been on a heady topper made by the alchemist brewing kick lately. It's a pain in the ass to find, but if you get your hands on one you won't be dissapointed.

Other random(s)
-nugget nector
-old chub
-dead guy

 

Old Chub!!! Oskar Blues is a solid brewery

Mamma's Yella Pils is my go to beer.

 

Ted Fidy is pretty fucking great, I gotta get some more of those

 

Brewers Association Lists Top 50 Breweries of 2015 - Brewers Association

 

Cascade bottles are hilariously over priced. $30 a pop.lol.

 

21 at midnight tonight . what should my first legal beer be? We have a Ballast Point brewery here which would be cool but I'm thinking of trying something new.

 

My first legal beer was a black butte porter so that's my recommendation.

 

It's gonna be cold out tonight and that sounds like a good cold weather beer. I'd be down with this. I always go for IPAs and have been meaning to branch out too.

 

Old chub is one of my favorite beers. I love all of the Oscar blues beers. Especially the dale .

 

They aren't all that price, the standards a bit cheaper (down here at least), but sours that size almost always come with a heavier price tag like barrel aged beers do. More time and commitment are put into beers of those varieties, so I get it