Cask Beer in 2023 - Year End Wrap Up
I wasn’t planning on bookending a post from earlier in the year about cask beer, but there’s a lot to discuss. Unlike years past, where an update may just affirm declining sales and interest in cask beer, this year brought a roller coaster ride of good and bad news. This time, the most disappointing news provided a spark that generated a bit more passion, defense, and relevance to what has generally been seen as a dying method of beer production and service. We’ll start with that.
Cask Marque’s annual Cask Ale Week in England got off to a bumpy start in September when it was featured in a GB News story. For those unfamiliar with GB News (as I was), it seems akin to Newsmax. The response by many cask fans in the UK was highly carbonated. Fanning the flames, Cask Marque doubled down in response to critics and unapologetically said they were just trying to spread the word and grow appreciation for cask beer.
Worse than this though was an offensive t-shirt that organizers created for the event that stated, “I identify as…a beer drinker”. According to this tweet by David Jesudason, the organization allegedly doubled down on this as well:
Image Source: X.
Though there were numerous events throughout the week, it felt as if the wind was taken from the sails and the whole thing seemed unfortunate. That said, there was a silver lining as there was some of the most passionate dialogue about cask beer seen in a long time. It almost made it feel relevant for a moment.
In my earlier post, I mentioned a more positive initiative to promote cask beer by Black Sheep Brewery with their Drink Cask Beer campaign. News broke in May that the company was entering administration (which is like the UK version of Chapter 11). A few months later, there were some layoffs and the closing of a few of their pubs.
They’re still around though, and I’m rooting for them. Black Sheep Ale and Riggwelter were two of my favorites when I was getting into beer. It has been a very long time since I’ve seen those on shelves over here or at any pubs, and I miss them a lot.
Image source: Instagram
I’ll wrap up my UK comments with two positive tidbits. First, CAMRA published a book in August by Des de Moor on cask beer. Cask: The real story of Britain’s unique beer culture, is a long overdue addition to the literary beer world. While the book could have been trimmed down a bit, it will be a huge asset to those learning about beer styles, service, and traditions, including those in the Cicerone program.
I was happy to see De Moor present on the subject of cask beer at this year’s Beer Culture Summit, organized by the Beer Culture Center (which was up until recently known as the Chicago Brewseum.) The summit is a yearly highlight for legit beer nerds. If you haven’t attended in the past, keep an eye out for next year.
Second, Boak and Bailey think there may be some real traction with cask ale at the moment. In a recent post, they state, “are we imagining it or are classic British beer styles, and cask ale more generally, making a bit of a cultural comeback? For real, this time. Not just in the hopeful dreams of traditionalists.” For more insight, read the full post here.
Ruvani de Silva suggests this is the case in the United States. Reporting in a recent Washington Post article, she says that there’s “new interest” in cask beer engines in the US and a 50-percent increase in cask beer check-ins over the last two years on the Untappd app. Maybe our “hopeful dreams” are coming true.
There certainly seems to be interest in Portland, Oregon where Jeff Alworth has made several references to the growing popularity of cask beer over the last two years. This has apparently continued to grow. See Jeff’s tweet below from this past September. Breweries like Upright, Gigantic, and Steeplejack are reliably serving cask beer. Away Days are as well, and they have even been holding bi-annual cask beer fests.
Image Source: X.
Bill Arnott at his brewery Machine House in Seattle. Stop by for a mardle (look it up). Image source: Instagram.
Just a bit to the north, things weren’t looking good in my last update when I mentioned that cask brewing stalwart Machine House Brewery in Seattle was losing its original home and was unsure of its future. Fortunately, the brewery found a new space in the Hillman City neighborhood and is back up and running. Crisis averted.
Over in the Northeast, the New England Real Ale eXhibition (NERAX) was held in Boston earlier in the year. It was the first time the event was held since 2019. An unexpected delay with the organizers citing “numerous supply chain issues”, pushed the event back a few weeks. It ultimately went forward serving over 100 different beers in an array of styles to an enthusiastic crowd. They have announced that the 2024 event will take place once again in Boston from April 10th to the 13th. Find out more information here.
Cask event at Strong Rope Brewery, May 2023.
My earlier post mentioned a great little annual fest in New York at Strong Rope, and this was followed up locally by a couple of fun cask events at Fifth Hammer, including one I attended dubbed “Caskalot”. There was some great beer, and it was a nice, laid-back affair. I’d love to see more events like these.
The Jones Wood Foundry in Manhattan’s Upper East Side kept its annual tradition of having a weekly cask beer program over the summer (though you can regularly find cask beer there throughout the year). I think in the past it was just for August. This summer, it started in June and ran through August. There were great pours by breweries like Dutchess Ales, Strong Rope, Wild East, Fifth Hammer and others.
This year, Jones Wood also began a cask-related blog on their website called ‘The Cask Whisperer’ by Nigel Walsh. It’s a bit of a hidden gem. This post in particular has inspired me to organize informal cask beer pub crawls. New Yorkers, keep your eyes peeled for that in 2024 if you’d like to join.
Also in New York, Wild East supported their increased production of traditional English-style Ales with the installation of a hand pump. Co-founder and head of brewing Brett Taylor told me they got their handpump from a pub in Sussex, England and they’ve kept the Marston’s handle that came with it. Every time I ask Brett how the casks are selling, he tells me they move quickly.
Marton’s handle on Wild East Brewing’s hand pump.
Instagram post by Delaware Supply in Albany, New York. Image source: Instagram.
Similarly, one of my favorite beer spots around, Delaware Supply in Albany, New York, recently burned through three Suarez Family Brewery pins (a 5.4-gallon keg for cask service) in less than two hours as noted in the Instagram post above. My home away from home brewery, Wayward Lane, started making some cask ale this year and also sent out some to Delaware Supply.
Suarez has made some great traditional British-style ales over the years, and it’s exciting to see them cranking out casks. Hopefully, they will keep it up and people will continue to take to them. Suarez no doubt helped guide a new generation of beer drinkers to lager (and has probably done the same with Dark Mild). I’m certain they can do the same with cask beer.
It would be interesting to see if they put some of their lager in casks too. I explored the idea of how great cask lager can be in Craft Beer and Brewing’s lager issue this year. If you’re not a subscriber, you really should sign up. It’s well worth it. If a subscription is not in the cards right now, the article just became available on the Craft Beer & Brewing website. You can access it here.
Elsewhere in print, Courtney Iseman had an article about cask beer published in the heavy metal magazine Decibel. It’s rad that Decibel published an article on this topic. I gladly scooped up a copy that came with a flexi 7-inch record. As a cask drinking record collector, this purchase was a no-brainer.
Image source: X.
I’ll wrap up with some thoughts on sparklers. These are the attachments that can be added to the swan neck of a hand pump to create a more robust head on a cask beer and better lacing. I’ve watched with amusement as people debate whether these should be used. This debate is primarily in cask beer’s homeland and is often noted as having a north/south orientation (sparkler in the north, not the south). Some are even getting sparkler tattoos.
Black Sheep brazenly crossed enemy lines recently to serve their sparkled ales at a pop-up Christmas market in London. See the tweet above. They returned to the north unscathed.
I’ve found the debate a little ridiculous in the past, but I’ve been thinking lately that if it’s all in good fun (the Black Sheep tweet serving as an example), the debate should maybe be promoted more. It reminds me of the tremendously successful Miller Lite Tastes Great, Less Filling campaign, and it could be a fun way to generate interest and pride in cask beer. And, sparkler or not, if people are rallying behind cask beer, we all benefit.