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Poll

Do the pubs in your area have consistent offerings of Cask Ale?

Yes; but I never partake
Yes; Cask Ale is something I consume regularly
None offered in my area
What's a Cask Ale?

Author Topic: Cask Ale vs Alcopop  (Read 6743 times)

jaybeerman

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Re: Cask Ale vs Alcopop
« Reply #15 on: October 27, 2010, 04:54:36 pm »
I've never seen nor tasted a cask ale.  I continue to look out for them though.

Don't feel bad, I think most people have had the same experience.  Hopefully, you'll find a properly served hand pulled pint soon.

Offline tschmidlin

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Re: Cask Ale vs Alcopop
« Reply #16 on: October 27, 2010, 05:00:16 pm »
I'm just offering an example, the best brewpubs IMO have a great relationship with their local homebrewers. Therefore, the flip side is that homebrewers didn't give up homebrewing when great beer became available.  Hope that makes sense.  :)

Ok, I get it.  :) I'm not saying everyone will give up homebrewing obviously, we've got lots around here.  But maybe not as many as if we had bad beer.
Tom Schmidlin

jaybeerman

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Re: Cask Ale vs Alcopop
« Reply #17 on: October 27, 2010, 05:20:56 pm »

Ok, I get it.  :) I'm not saying everyone will give up homebrewing obviously, we've got lots around here.  But maybe not as many as if we had bad beer.

 Maybe I live in an anomaly; we currently have 141k people in our county.
1 - Good brewpub (occasional cask ale)
2- Terrible brewpubs (one may come back around)
1- future brewpub (unkown brewers) which may open around spring
0- good beer bars
0- homebrew clubs (seriously not one) (may change if i can find a couple more interested brewers)

Offline mikeypedersen

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Re: Cask Ale vs Alcopop
« Reply #18 on: October 27, 2010, 05:44:25 pm »
I've never seen nor tasted a cask ale.  I continue to look out for them though.
Blatz, that's a bummer man. Hit me up if you ever make it to Colorado. Avery, Lefthand, Boulder Beer all have the good old beer engine and a ton of other places have Firkin Fridays where they tap a firkin right around 5 pm.

Offline jeffy

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Re: Cask Ale vs Alcopop
« Reply #19 on: October 27, 2010, 05:52:50 pm »
I love cask ales, but they'e not too common here in Fl.  My local brewpub usually has its IPA on cask and there are a couple of good beer bars that have a beer engine on, but it's not an everyday thing.  Not like Portland or Denver.
Jeff Gladish, Tampa (989.3, 175.1 Apparent Rennarian)
Homebrewing since 1990
AHA member since 1991, now a lifetime member
BJCP judge since 1995

Offline tschmidlin

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Re: Cask Ale vs Alcopop
« Reply #20 on: October 27, 2010, 08:18:00 pm »

Ok, I get it.  :) I'm not saying everyone will give up homebrewing obviously, we've got lots around here.  But maybe not as many as if we had bad beer.

 Maybe I live in an anomaly; we currently have 141k people in our county.
1 - Good brewpub (occasional cask ale)
2- Terrible brewpubs (one may come back around)
1- future brewpub (unkown brewers) which may open around spring
0- good beer bars
0- homebrew clubs (seriously not one) (may change if i can find a couple more interested brewers)

Check with the brewpubs and see if they know of any other homebrewers in the area and see if the good one would be willing to host a meeting.  They will probably even let you put up some flyers.  Something along the lines of - "Do you brew your own beer?  Do you want to learn?  Come to a meeting of the Fruita Lager and Ale Brewers . . . "

You might only get one or two people at first, but it will grow eventually.

PS - I just named your club FLAB  ;D
Tom Schmidlin

jaybeerman

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Re: Cask Ale vs Alcopop
« Reply #21 on: October 27, 2010, 08:32:55 pm »

PS - I just named your club FLAB  ;D

I like it

Offline beerocd

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Re: Cask Ale vs Alcopop
« Reply #22 on: October 27, 2010, 10:20:25 pm »
Cask ale just does nothing for me. Love beer, love wine, some wood in wine is OK, doesn't belong in beer IMO.
The moral majority, is neither.

Offline euge

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Re: Cask Ale vs Alcopop
« Reply #23 on: October 27, 2010, 11:45:49 pm »
Cask ale just does nothing for me. Love beer, love wine, some wood in wine is OK, doesn't belong in beer IMO.

I've never had it. Does it really give wood flavor or are the casks line with something? I understand that cask ale's character changes over the course of time- even in the same day. Sounds like homebrew! ;)

On the other subject there isn't many brewpubs here. At most ten. Butt load of bars and beer joints. What sucks is the distances involved and I don't like to drive even after one beer. There's a HB scene here though.
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. -Richard P. Feynman

Laws are spider-webs, which catch the little flies, but cannot hold the big ones. -Anacharsis

Offline tschmidlin

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Re: Cask Ale vs Alcopop
« Reply #24 on: October 27, 2010, 11:52:31 pm »
Many cask ales are actually served out of stainless casks.  Don't confuse cask beer with barrel aged beer.   ;)

Cask beer is served via gravity or hand pump with no artificial carbonation, although some places will put a blanket of CO2 on the beer to prevent it from oxidizing too quickly.

Barrel aged beer typically picks up some character from the barrel.

The two can overlap, but one is not necessarily the other. So barrel aged beer can be served as a cask or not, and cask ale can be aged in an oak barrel or not.
Tom Schmidlin

Offline jeffy

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Re: Cask Ale vs Alcopop
« Reply #25 on: October 28, 2010, 05:18:52 am »

PS - I just named your club FLAB  ;D

I like it
Too late.  Ft. Lauderdale Area Brewers already has that one.
Jeff Gladish, Tampa (989.3, 175.1 Apparent Rennarian)
Homebrewing since 1990
AHA member since 1991, now a lifetime member
BJCP judge since 1995

Offline bluesman

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Re: Cask Ale vs Alcopop
« Reply #26 on: October 28, 2010, 05:30:56 am »
The Dogfish Head Brewpub near me had DFH 75 on cask this year. I really liked it.
I don't think you will find it outside of brewpubs.
Ron Price

Offline majorvices

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Re: Cask Ale vs Alcopop
« Reply #27 on: October 28, 2010, 05:57:19 am »
I've never seen nor tasted a cask ale.  I continue to look out for them though.

Wow! I have to admit that surprises me paul. You need to come up and visit sometime. I have a beer engine and am in the process of acquiring a few firkins (not that you need them, you can homebrew them easily enough with cornies) and there are a few pubs in Nashville that put some nice beers on cask. An AIPA on cask is simply awesome!

While I am not about restricting peoples' freedoms, Alcopop makes me question that judgment. I think the crowd drinking them the most is the under 21 crowd and I think it is also marketed toward them. And I see the empty cans everywhere when I am out running on the side of the road, so the DUI crowd is having their fill with them as well. I have no respect for people who make that crap.

I voted "yes" on the poll but I have to drive to Nashville to have a "consistent" offering. As a local brewer I will be working hard to change that.
« Last Edit: October 28, 2010, 06:01:48 am by majorvices »

Offline beerocd

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Re: Cask Ale vs Alcopop
« Reply #28 on: October 28, 2010, 06:21:51 am »
Many cask ales are actually served out of stainless casks.  Don't confuse cask beer with barrel aged beer.   ;)

Flat beer is OK  ;) You're right, it's the bourbon barrel stuff I HATE.
But I've still not had GOOD cask beer. Tried a few, never really WOWed me so I tend to stay away from it.
Just like anything else - the sample you draw from is what shapes your perception.
I can't say there's a good example around here - so I quit trying.
The moral majority, is neither.

Offline majorvices

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Re: Cask Ale vs Alcopop
« Reply #29 on: October 28, 2010, 06:32:27 am »
Many cask ales are actually served out of stainless casks.  Don't confuse cask beer with barrel aged beer.   ;)

Flat beer is OK  ;) You're right, it's the bourbon barrel stuff I HATE.
But I've still not had GOOD cask beer. Tried a few, never really WOWed me so I tend to stay away from it.
Just like anything else - the sample you draw from is what shapes your perception.
I can't say there's a good example around here - so I quit trying.

Do you dislike draught Guiness (on tap or in the Draught Can)? Basically the beer on "nitro" is meant to emulate beer hand pulled from a cask. Its all about the mouthfeel. If you do not like draught Guiness you probably won;t like Cask Ale. If you like Draught Guiness you will probably love a properly pulled pint!