Cask Over the Water …Controversy Across the Atlantic by Roger Putman

● BEER DISPENSE

Irene Searles

Cask over the water …controversy across the Atlantic by Roger Putman

Cask conditioned beer is one of the oldest methods of presenting beer for sale and it is also the most straight On the bar for all to see or tucked away in a cooled cellar? That is the question. forward. Ancient Sumerians and some modern Africans sit and the Brit drinks around half of around a communal pot drinking it through a long straw his beer at home. So cask produc- but in 2016, Trading Standards and Environmental Health tion has decreased from 11.2mhL to 3.6mhL in 35 years but sales have might take a dim view of that! steadied and all is not doom and gloom. The Cask Report from Cask ou package the beer into a cask tion; dispensing from cask survived Marque indicates that 70% of the UK Ystraight after primary fermenta- the move to put beer into expensive on-trade accounts stock cask beer, tion with a small amount of extra recycled wine bottles in the 1600s, the each sells an average of 24 gallons a sugar to ensure a secondary fer- introduction of industrial scale bottle week, 17% of cask drinkers are wom- mentation in the container which manufacture in the 1850s and the early en and 68% of the total are under the encourages the remaining yeast to cans of the 1930s but sales wavered age of 55. There are almost 10,000 remove ‘green’ flavours and build with kegging and the increasing popu- pubs accredited to Cask Marque up carbon dioxide. Isinglass finings larity of lager from the 1950s. These on-sale standards. UK cask sales are settles the yeast into the belly of the trends in packaging were driven by the slowly building against a background cask and the bright and slightly fizzy twin requirements of improving the of overall declining beer sales, peo- beer (around 1.1vols or 2g/L CO2) is quality and consistency as presented ple going to the pub less often, fewer pumped to the bar for sale. to the customer and an ever extending pubs to sell it in, increased competi- It may be straight forward, but distribution system no doubt fuelled by tion with over 1700, mainly tiny, UK it is not the easiest. The work in the TV advertising. brewers and not all publicans appre- pub well away from the brewery is a By 1980 UK sales in cask repre- ciating the premiumisation which can key factor and cellar managers need sented only 16.8% of a 67mhL market derive from a range of cask products proper training and experience. Here where some 79% of beer was sold in perfectly served by knowledgeable in the UK we grew up with a cask tradi- pubs but today cask is 8.1% of 45mhL bar staff.

16 z Brewer and Distiller International July 2016 www.ibd.org.uk BEER DISPENSE l

Cask outside the UK from a flavour perspective. There are a ver once had four beer engines when Some UK cask is exported but British few brewers in the US that absolutely he worked at Yaletown but now there Beer and Pub Association figures do hate this way of making cask beer are none. “Even then the engines not drill down to package type. My con- and would prefer everyone to use the were used to dispense beer from tacts tell me they have seen Harveys traditional method.” stainless tanks rather than actual in Copenhagen and Charles Wells has casks. We would push a beer carbon- twelve outlets in France in Paris, Lyon, Over in British Columbia ated to 1.5 vols of CO2 to the bar with Bordeaux, Toulouse and Montpellier Up in British Columbia, Iain Hill who only about 4 psi of mixed gas (top- where it took a while to convince the is now at Strange Fellows in Vancou- pressure) and this resulted in a very locals that cask beer is served warmer than the keg they were used to but Brewers trying to do it the British way they love ‘les bangairs et mash’! Cask Marque has accredited pubs in Swe- den, Denmark, Finland, France, Spain and there are ten in the States mainly in New York and Philadelphia. Nigel Farrar from Angram, the beer engine maker says that his firm has seen a 50% uplift in North American sales in the last two years and there are some hot spots in mainland Europe as well. The logistics of chilled transport from the UK is a challenge but casks will travel without mishap under the Clay Potter at the Moon Under Bill Arnott at the Machine House right conditions as the Brewing Industry Water on Vancouver Island in Seattle International Awards discovered when 250 casks were taken to the competi- tion in Munich back in 2005. All but one were in top condition and that odd one Adam Chatburn at Real Cask in would have been undrinkable even if it Vancouver had never left the brewery! But why im- port cask ale, far better for ‘beer miles’ to produce it locally, particularly as British malts and hops are readily available to craft brewers worldwide. But why should cask beers only be made from European materials by traditional methods? That is the crux of current controversy in North America. We are not for a moment suggesting that we stifle North American innovation in the world of beer but should the proudly declared ‘brewed with European tradi- Tony Mitchelhill at the Beer Iain Hill at Strange Fellows in Jamil Zainasheff is owner/brewer at tion’ bit be done properly? Shoppe in Yakima Vancouver Heretic Brewing in Fairfield, CA

Mitch Steele at Stone Brewing in Devin Roberts Kevin McIntyre Photography San Diego echoes the two approaches. “The first is the very traditional way, following the UK procedure with a goal of getting a good clear beer with a very mellow carbonation from a secondary fermentation. Unfortunately, most bars in the USA are ill-equipped to handle casks properly; they do not have proper temperature storage and draw systems. More craft brewers are using casks as a way to have fun with additional ingredients in their beers. There is not as much concern with beer clarity and carbonation. Typically beer is pulled off the fermenter at terminal gravity and stored for a week in the firkin. No finings, no priming, so the beer is very hazy and has inconsistent carbonation levels. But the Alisha Blue is brewer at Freewheel Brewing in beers by and large are very interesting Redwood City, CA Macleod Brewing’s Josiah Blomquist www.ibd.org.uk Brewer and Distiller International July 2016 z 17 l BEER DISPENSE

somewhere. Cask nights are generally What is Cask Marque used to draw in more customers on a slow night, from Sunday through to Supported by the UK brewing industry, Cask Marque was Thursday. At the Moon under Water, formed in the UK during 1997 to provide an independent we serve a cask every Wednesday and standard for cask beer on sale. Pubs that join the scheme there is a line up out the door most are visited unannounced by an independent technical as- nights! We have 100 seats and we’ll sessor twice a year. The assessor checks all cask ales on usually empty a firkin in a couple sale for temperature, appearance, aroma and taste. All hours. the beers must reach the required standard for the pub to “Now for the bad news. Most of pass and it then receives a plaque, framed certificate and the casks around here are not up to merchandising material to inform its customers about the standard (not the actual word which award. There are 45 assessors (mainly time served brew- Clay used!). Not just in flavour and ers) with 9779 pubs to visit including 24 outside the UK. appearance, but very few are properly cask conditioned. The most com- nice pint although it would not satisfy before it will be served. Naturally this mon way to prepare a cask over here diehard cask aficionados. There is stirs up any sediment that has settled. is to take finished, carbonated bright sometimes a lot of chatter around There is really no easy way to fix this beer and add a fifth, sixth or seventh cask beer in Vancouver and for that problem as pubs have nowhere to keep ingredient to it. Commonly this is matter all around the west coast casks under the bar, no beer engine just a sack of dry hops, but more and of North America but there is not and most of all they do not even under- more it is something bizarre. Brew- a great deal of it being made and stand what they are doing wrong and ers or sales reps will show up an served. That said there will always some seem not to even care. People hour before a cask festival with their be some small breweries that try to like me who get upset about casks cask sloshing around in the back of keep it alive, Strange Fellows will being tossed around before they go their car and plop it on the table then produce several casks every month into service are considered to be overly tap it right away! Small wonder that for accounts that want something fussy and particular. Unlike the UK no clarity is not top priority. The last special but I do not see a big resur- one here cares particularly if a cask cask festival I was at in Vancouver gence happening right now. beer is cloudy.” had casks such as ‘chocolate coconut “The biggest challenge is a lack Over the water on Vancouver porter’, ‘raspberry and honey saison’ of understanding around cask beer. Island, Clay Potter runs the Moon and ‘peanut butter stout’. Interest- Publicans and restaurateurs mostly under Water brewpub and famously ingly the best cask there was a see casks as something special they uses decoction in his brewhouse but simple English Mild with no adultera- can use to get patrons in on other- he too does not see a big future for tion - so hopefully that’s a sign of wise quiet nights but there is often traditional cask dispense. “Cask beer things to come! Cask also seems to no knowledge of what it entails and may be a wildly popular thing at the be used a lot by breweries to launch with little familiarity about how best moment, but unfortunately it doesn’t new products; beer from tank is sent to handle it. Usually casks are served have any sort of the same meaning to pubs around town to give a sneak by gravity from a cask sitting on a as it does back in the UK. Every night peek of their next seasonal. So when bar top. Inevitably that cask is tapped of the week in Victoria and Vancou- folk see a firkin on a bar top they elsewhere and carried to the bar just ver there is at least one ‘cask night’ either ask ‘what is it?’ or they have Freewheel in Redwood City

The brewery, casks and bar at Freewheel. Photo Credits: Devin Roberts

18 z Brewer and Distiller International July 2016 www.ibd.org.uk BEER DISPENSE l

seen one before and expect some What’s on? crazy concoction to be inside.”

Heretic in California Jamil Zainasheff is owner/brewer at Heretic Brewing in Fairfield between San Francisco and Sacramento. He is a bit of a rock star in the world of Californian homebrewing with the pseudonym Mr Malty. He brewed an example of every beer described in the BCJP (Beer Judge Certification Program) guidelines and wrote an award winning book about them. Mr Malty told us “In the USA, while cask is not a huge draw for the masses, there is a dedicated following. For the majority of beer drinkers, they still have never been introduced to cask beer and far fewer have sam- pled it properly prepared and served. However, there are more and more craft beer bars trying to differenti- ate themselves and they often turn to cask as something that helps expand their offerings. It seems that many breweries don’t want to make cask beer and that makes it hard for a pub to find a supply especially if that nice ones, so I’ve got an open mind on “We are one of very few West Coast pub likes to rotate through as many the subject. If it tastes good, then it is breweries that makes a Ordinary Bitter different styles of beer as possible. good. and Dark Mild. Sadly there are not a For breweries, they tend to avoid cask large number of bars willing and able to because it is not particularly profit- Freewheel in Redwood City undertake the responsibility of serving able as it requires special cooperage, Mr Malty sees a niche for cask beer proper cask ale. People that know beer single use sealing parts and special in his pub and ensures it is handled are familiar with cask ale with its main knowledge of how to package the beer properly and I also tracked down selling features offering a lot of flavour properly. other brewers including some Brits at lower %ABVs and is much less filling “In California, the temperatures working on the west coast who than highly carbonated beer. I also like in the tap room can get quite warm are equally dedicated to the mis- to relay that this is all natural which is a and very few places actually have a sion. First up is the 14hL Freewheel big selling point for Californians.” cellar. So we use a ‘caskerator’. This Brewing Co in Redwood City which Devin added to the clear or cloudy is a small refrigerator on wheels that is south of San Francisco on the way conundrum by pointing out that holds one firkin. It is kept at 10oC and to San Jose. They have hired Alisha “although there are many Americans the beer is served via a cask widge and Blue as Head Brewer; an Idaho girl, that appreciate a clear beer, it’s not a beer engine. No breather. No CO2. she attended the 20 week Master considered all that important to the “People try it because it is unusual Brewer course at Siebel and Doe- average American craft beer drinker. and they’ve not seen it before. In our mens and she used to brew at Roost- One reason could be that haze is tap room very few people had ever ers in Yorkshire, one of the earlier considered ‘craft haze’. It has become seen a beer engine, so they asked exponents of hop fronted beers in so common for craft beers to be hazy what it was. Now customers come in the UK. She reminds us that “English (usually due the high rate of dry hop- and ask what is on cask. ales tend to be more nuanced and ping that often leaves haze), that it I asked Jamil about why anyone subtle in flavour. They have a lot of it, has become almost a calling card for would want to drink a cloudy pint. but if you serve them fizzy and really craft beer. The bright spot is that many “Gosh, the subject of cloudy versus cold, all of those nuances would be regulars who originally only ordered clear beer is a tough one. I do prefer ruined.” Devin Roberts, Freewheel’s our keg IPA have been turned on to our a clear pint for many reasons, but it Sales and Marketing Director reck- bright cask.” is not up to me to tell people to drink ons “that although cask beer is still something specific. I’m just happy that a small niche of the West Coast beer Cooperative in Vancouver brewers are being creative and trying market, it is definitely gaining a de- Adam Chatburn is a Brit who used to to make something unusual. In a world voted following. We still use English brew at the Blackburn Brewing Co in of hefeweizens, saisons, fruity sours Maris Otter malt in all of our beers, Lancashire. He was Chairman of the and other such cloudy, even turbid but mostly American hops. There- British Columbian branch of CAMRA styles, opacity is not considered a fore, while our processes are steeped where he saw the section membership problem. I’ve had some really bad pints in tradition the final product certainly rise to 1600. He is now involved in Van- of opaque beer, but also some very has a California touch. couver’s 5hL Callister Brewing, a coop- www.ibd.org.uk Brewer and Distiller International July 2016 z 19 l BEER DISPENSE

erative where local brewers share the nable degree. Other casks might have quite flavour adventurous, textures facilities and his outfit is simply called fruit, herbs or spices added - this, as and carbonation must fit a very tight Real Cask. “My belief is that properly you might imagine can be a rather hit definition. Some are converts and it is served real ale is not as widespread in and miss affair. If mango and habanero particularly gratifying when someone the Pacific north-west as it should be. saison sounds interesting, how about tries a mild for the first time and has Real Cask makes only cask beers to an orange and fennel scotch ale? their own epiphany of a well made, be served from a stillage through hand “These casks are never served well cellared and well served true cask pumps. ‘correctly’ they are carried into the bar ale. Hearts and minds, one mouth at “Although there has been a tre- moments prior to tapping and this has a time. Although for everyone of them mendous growth in craft breweries in some kind of imaginary ceremonial there’s still an “it’s warm/flat/bland/ British Columbia, the styles and serv- gravitas at the appointed hour with not enough alcohol...”. ing methods leave a lot to be desired. the same enthusiasm as O’zapft is! at “There are many other issues here It is my hope that by producing some the Oktoberfest! But here it is often such as poor line cleaning regimens, classic examples of British bitters and clumsily tapped on top of the bar and no consistent serving volumes result- milds that I can show just how good served immediately in a feeding frenzy. ing in short pours from unscrupulous British style cask beer can be! Naturally it then warms up and flat- bar owners, poor glassware options “Cask beer in Western Canada is tens in an hour or so. They check the and gravity creep which has seen a still a bit of a oddity. Rarely could it amount left by lifting and shaking it. I typical craft %ABV here morph into be described as properly cask con- kid you not. a less sessionable brew in excess of ditioned, many craft beer establish- “As the first cask nights in Canada 6%. We could argue that these issues ments have a mid-week cask night to used this bad practice, it has spread are just as important as proper cask draw in people when it would other- and is now ingrained in the beer technique.” wise be quiet; this is usually just a culture. Even ex-pats and brewers brewery’s regular beer but always with who really should know better delight Old Machine House some additions. As you might imag- in this appalling practice of serv- Bill Arnott who originally hails from ine here in the Pacific north-west big ing gimmicky, foamy, cloudy, yeasty, Norfolk and Tipples Brewery is hops rule and casks give brewers the hoppy muck. It really is heartbreaking brewer at the Machine House Brewery opportunity to dry-hop to an unimagi- knowing that had these casks been situated in the machine shop of the A couple of cellar installations cellared properly (or at all), tapped and maltings at the old Rainier Brewery vented ahead of time, they could have buildings in south Seattle. He spe- been magnificent. As you can imagine, cialises in authentic British style cask plenty of people are unimpressed by ale. “When I moved to Seattle in 2010 these casks and then ‘don’t like cask I was pretty appalled by the state in beer’ forever more.” which bars and breweries were serving cask ale. There were a few pubs Many challenges to uptake with beer engines, most were serving “The main challenges to further out of American Sankey or Golden uptake are manifold. Firstly a lack Gate kegs, often either at room of knowledge, some locations will temperature or far too cold at 4-5oC. embrace the concept but as manag- Typically very cloudy, very inconsistent ers and bartenders tend to move overall and I would say poorly chosen around with alarming frequency it is a beer styles, usually very strong IPAs constant battle. Secondly the culture and specialty beers, most often with that a cask must be drunk in a night added ingredients. In the best cases, means that most beer engines are extra hops, but more often than not, purely ornamental and often located things like vanilla, cherries, even away from the rest of the taps thus bacon and chillies! frequently overlooked by both servers “While I don’t have anything and customers. Thirdly, keg rooms against brewers getting creative in are often ludicrously overcrowded, that way, it is a bit sad that this is when these pubs were built there were what cask ale has come to mean to often only three or four taps for beer, consumers over here, which is really now they may have many more and not what it is about. Because I could there is just no room for a stillage. not find a decent proper cask ale any- They could use a widge but few know where, I made the (arguably perilous) about them and the cask would still be decision to open up a brewery and moved around just like a keg! Add- taproom specialising in truly authen- ing a cask line to glycol system would tic British style cask ale. It has been be prohibitively expensive, or require hard work but, three years in now, we sacrificing a keg line – which typically are doing well and have established being of such narrow gauge makes a good reputation among discerning pulling a pint a Herculean task! The drinkers. final barrier is the customers; North “What is a little ironic is that in Americans demand excessive fizzi- the 1980s and 90s, the first micro- Beer being properly stillaged and kept cool ness in all things beer, while they are breweries to open in the States were

20 z Brewer and Distiller International July 2016 www.ibd.org.uk BEER DISPENSE l

The Machine House caskerator. This was developed with Hugh Sisson of Heavy Seas Brewery in Baltimore to tackle the cooling which is the main obstacle that US bars have to overcome. It adapts a kegerator (a fridge designed to hold a 50L keg) by fixing a beer hand pump on the top with the space inside holding a vertical firkin dispensed using a cask widge.

…and down in LA Finally back to the US outlets and Los Angeles where Macleod Brewing has set up in the industrial neighbour- hood of Van Nuys north west of the city centre. Open since summer 2014 it has recently sought crowd funding to double the size of the bar and brewery. The generous Founders 54 Club, for that is the temperature of the beer in degrees Fahrenheit, offers a free pint per visit for life in return for an investment of $500, as much as free beer as you like for $1000 and $5000 allows you to bring three friends. Word is getting around and although parking is a problem, dogs can roam free and the beer from six handpulls is gaining a good reputation as well. Proprietrix Jennifer Boase (with husband Alastair) says the decision to brew only cask was a fiscal one as they would not have to invest in bright tanks, filtration or carbonation equipment. The first brewer from New England and again Rooster inducted fiercely protected the cask portfolio The Machine House Brewery is sited in the old Rainier Brewery buildings in Seattle and would not sell outside for fear his pretty much all trying to replicate the Caskerators beer would not be looked after prop- fuller flavoured beers found in Britain. “Although customers do seem to erly. He moved on last year and Josiah Early brewers began producing cask like that presentation of cask beer, I Blomquist is now in charge. He came ales when they started out, but then think people are learning and coming from the home brewing fraternity, is the difficulties with cask cellarman- around to the notion that it should be big in the Maltose Falcons club which ship without the infrastructure of the better than that. The model I am trying is America’s oldest and most venera- traditional British pub meant a switch to push into more places is a ‘caskera- ble home brew society. He learnt about to keg beer was essential for busi- tor’. It is essentially what many places cask by sitting quaffing the stuff at the ness. As a result, cask beer has been with beer engines here already use. It Macleod bar and firing questions at the reduced to a novelty item, typically is not ideal in many ways, but is com- harassed brewer. An avid follower of served by gravity pour off a bar top pact and easy, and may be the best Ron Pattinson’s ‘Shut Up about Barclay with no temperature control and typi- way for us to get cask ale with perfect Perkins’ blog he is keen to try old cally no settling time being removed temperature, clarity and freshness to a British recipes and had three different from the chiller room at around 5oC, wider audience here.” English bitters on tap for LA beer week tapped and served immediately. In These caskerators are available last month. Bowing to the inevitable general, people do not mind cloudy from another Brit in the form of Paul and keeping all customers happy, he beer here at all. But while a little Pendyck who founded his UK Brew- also brews nitro and draft kegs both haze may be acceptable, I have had ing Supplies operation in 1997 based for the bar and other customers. Ap- many pints of ‘cask ale’ served here in Pennsylvania, Paul aims to ‘bring parently the delicate Yorkshire Pale Ale that look like a glass of peanut but- the British pub to America’ by offering was just not the same at 38°F! ter. That cannot be good. a Stateside source of everything you The main focus is still on cask, Jen- “As for the use of strange infusions might need to sell British beers. There nifer Boase told us “We are a fledgling in the cask, my theory is that, as well is Filton cooling and cellar equipment, brewery trying against the odds to as creating a novelty item, many brew- Angram beer engines, stainless and bring cask ale to a fizzy IPA world. We ers here just get excited by the ability plastic casks complete with closures like quaffability from a beer of subtle to open up a firkin and all they want to and taps, glassware even stamped as complexity and harmonious ingredient do is put something in the bung hole!” imperial pints as well as the famous expression. We are proud of our brilliant www.ibd.org.uk Brewer and Distiller International July 2016 z 21 l BEER DISPENSE

The Caskerator Tony Mitchelhill is the Lancashire born cellarmaster for the operation. “As Bill Arnott rightly says the cask conditioned ale situation in the USA is far from rosy. It is a very large country but a decent pint of cask ale is indeed a very rare find. The Beer Shoppe was founded in 2006 and sells a large range of bottled beers and has a large bar with up to 24 draft beers of which three are cask conditioned ales available seven days a week, every week of the year. “It all happened, I suppose as a result of a desperate longing for cask conditioned mild ale when I moved back over here in 2011. This led me to revive my home brewing skills and build a brewery at my home. Even with …the Caskerator is wheeled to the bar area my other half, we could not drink all for dispense. that beer on our own so from time to about cask until working for us. They time we brewed up a batch of up to claim we have ‘ruined’ them as they four ales, racked them to cask and can no longer go out and enjoy pints the then had a Cask Ale gathering with Staff at the Heretic Brewery in Fairfield, CA way they used to, because their palates food pot luck. These proved quite fit the Cask Widge into an upright firkin and have changed. popular and it got around the town that place it in the cold Caskerator… “This is the Wild West here, Cali- there was this British chap that knew clarity and a Yorkshire pour (good head).” fornia is all about rule breaking or tak- about cask ale. I was approached by “We did look at setting up in Pasa- ing things a step further. The name of the owner of The Beer Shoppe saying dena, Los Angeles itself or Burbank, the game is making things our own by he had acquired a beer engine and but zoning laws require us to be in a putting our spin on things. At MacLeod wanted to use it. Although scepti- certain manufacturing area and this Ale, however, we are sort of being cal at first, I discovered there was a particular building happened to be the rebellious by taking cask back to its basement underneath and that pretty right size, price and zone, it also had a more traditional roots! We are definite- much clinched it. Here was an op- willing landlord. We knew the neigh- ly old school and shipped out a couple portunity to build a proper beer cellar bourhood and it has turned out to be a of dozen casks last week to try and and dispense system within an existing great location for us, full of the most in- spread the word. Drinking traditional business. The old beer engine was teresting people from actors, film crews British cask ale! It’s pretty awesome.” overhauled and two more shiny new to truck drivers and auto repairmen. It Angrams were acquired to serve from has been very satisfying, watching them Last stop is Yakima a proper beer cellar with full electronic fall in love with cask ale. And also the Finally we move to Washington State temperature control and ale python. staff...all of whom are craft beer nuts, and visit The Beer Shoppe in downtown “Our main supplier of ale is Bill Ar- but none of whom really knew anything Yakima where the hops come from. nott at Machine House and I am proud to handle his beers. I have gradually Macleod Brewing at Van Nuys in Los Angeles added other breweries, which usually

Photo credits: Kevin McIntyre Photography produce keg beer but the brewers are seriously interested in doing cask ale well and work closely with me taking on board my recommendations. The main problem is that these breweries simply will not invest in a necessary number of casks so I have to lend them my own cooperage which by now ties up a lot of money. The other problem with American brewers is that they do not seem to be able to understand the proper use of finings. I fine all the beer from these breweries on delivery and I ensure that it drops bright. But there is no distribution for the beer, it is necessary for me to drive a van on a 600 mile round trip once a month to collect beer and drop off empties. “It probably sounds as if such a well put together operation with no

22 z Brewer and Distiller International July 2016 www.ibd.org.uk BEER DISPENSE l

The Beer Shoppe characteristics are so very different! I think that quite a lot of American beer drinkers would acquire a taste for cask ale if they could just forget what they think they already know about beer and be more open to seeking out the body and complexity characteristics of good cask ale. However I often find that when I try to describe cask ale and use words like ‘balance’, ‘complexity’, ‘subtlety’ and describe the enjoyability of session strength cask ale I might as well be speaking Mandarin! “On a more positive note however I do perceive a gradual growth in outfits in the USA that take cask ale seriously and do it well. It seems to me, though that choosing where to locate the operation is very important. Machine House (Bill Arnott) is located in a lively and somewhat artsy area of a large The bar at the Beer Shoppe city with a wide and varied demographic. Brewers Union is located in a small town in a scenic area of Oregon along a popular route for a wide range of activities. MacLeods Brewery is in a suburb of Los Angeles with access to a massive demographic. All these busi- nesses adhere to best practice – producing uncompromisingly correct and excellent cask ales (without pandering to the strangeness’s and excesses of American craft beers) and surely but steadily appreciative customers do seem to grow in number for them.” I’ll leave the last word to Adam Chatburn. “The craft beer scene in the Tony Mitchelhill racks his own from a Tony in his temperature controlled cellar. Note Pacific northwest is vibrant, exciting, conditioning tank at Snipes Mountain the use of coat hooks to make sure the pipe innovative and fascinated with unusual Brewery at Sunnyside, WA which is some 38 runs look neat world wide styles and new creations, miles from Yakima I’ve never been anywhere that has over the years and have concluded such a desire to try new things, some- other quality cask ale around for over that Americans, in general, are ac- thing that the “British Drinking Public” 130 miles in a city of 93,000 should customed to very cold carbonated could learn a lot from, rather than just do pretty well. Unfortunately that is drinks from a very early age (around burying their heads in the cellar.” not the case, the operation struggles here all the schools have got Pepsi and cask sales are frankly far too logos displayed on them!). For many Next month, the author looks at doing low. There is a small core of regular decades Americans reached adulthood cask properly, the traditional British patrons that are very committed to it to enjoy freezing cold, highly carbon- way. but not really enough to make com- ated keg beers. The beer situation has mercial sense. The cask conditioned now changed and choice has greatly ale is well presented with gleaming widened but the beer, being kegged, polished brass beer engines central to is still cold and fizzy! The only tools the bar front with glossy profession- used by the craft brewers to attain ally finished pump clips and the ales flavour and body in this situation are are also listed and described in the high alcoholic strengths with grossly main electronic display with the word emphasised flavour and aroma addi- “CASK” included for differentiation. tions. These characteristics in craft Sadly most patrons don’t even try a beers seem to have become an end cask conditioned ale.” in themselves and have also become imprinted into the psychology of most …And finally. The obligatory autumn pumpkin Disappointment people who consider themselves to be ale. This 200kg monster was hollowed out, “This is all a bit disappointing but we craft aficionados. filled with primed beer, resealed with a peg are persevering with it. I have given “Against this backdrop traditional and tapped for Halloween at the Moon under the situation rather a lot of thought cask ale has a real uphill task as its Water in Victoria, BC www.ibd.org.uk Brewer and Distiller International July 2016 z 23