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Cask Days 2015

Post details, reviews and recaps of interesting beer events in Ontario and elsewhere here.

Moderators: Craig, Cass

jrenihan
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Post by jrenihan »

The full beer list is up now.
Lots of good stuff (or that looks good), but I will definitely be waiting to hear some comments before I dare to try TDD's "Beef Cake Mockery"- a Brown Ale with Beef Stock. WTF?
Ren

atomeyes
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Post by atomeyes »

jrenihan wrote:The full beer list is up now.
Lots of good stuff (or that looks good), but I will definitely be waiting to hear some comments before I dare to try TDD's "Beef Cake Mockery"- a Brown Ale with Beef Stock. WTF?
Ren
yeah, that looks pretty repugnant. trying to wrap my head around it. wondering if it was inspired somehow by the smell of agar plates? idunno.
i mean, some brett strains definitely give you meat/umami. so maybe it would work.

pretty excited to have brewed some beer for cask days. a bit nervous that they'll all be too young, but that's all beyond my control.

atomeyes
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Post by atomeyes »

also, looking for 1 ticket for saturday early session for my wife. please?

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Craig
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Post by Craig »

Didn't indie do a brown with beef stock last year? Maybe garlic or something in it too? I remember seeing the barrels at the sacred oak.

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lister
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Post by lister »

jrenihan wrote:The full beer list is up now.
Lots of good stuff (or that looks good), but I will definitely be waiting to hear some comments before I dare to try TDD's "Beef Cake Mockery"- a Brown Ale with Beef Stock. WTF?
Nothing wrong with some whacky beer and having some fun. Seems like the right place to do that. Beer is supposed to be fun right? A beefy gose-ish perhaps?

Says the person that makes whacky beer. :wink: :P
lister

AugustusRex
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Post by AugustusRex »

I wish they had more milds and bitters. Every year they focus on American styles that (like others say on this site) are better on tap anyway. Maybe one day it will be re-named : "Randaled Days".

atomeyes
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Post by atomeyes »

AugustusRex wrote:I wish they had more milds and bitters. Every year they focus on American styles that (like others say on this site) are better on tap anyway. Maybe one day it will be re-named : "Randaled Days".
i've never seen a randal there, but i get what you're saying.
guess you're asking ontario breweries to make styles they're not comfortable with.
the other problem?
carbonation.
i had to read a bunch of webpages and watch tutorials on how to carbonate cask beer. i then made a step by step spreadsheet on what to do and it still didn't make total sense. i think we have a grasp on how to cask carbonate/condition, but we'll see. and if it's tapped on friday and we don't have insane temp fluctuations, will it still be carbonated by sunday?
that's why most breweries probably pre-carbonate and just rack to casks. more controlled variables, less risk of gushers.

also, ontario breweries are making less british styles and more north american styles. i never really thought of a backwoods bastard-inspired beer, but if i have the chance to brew for cask days for next year, i'd love to do that. of course, that needs 6 months' lead time and we're still kind of chasing our own tails when it comes to planning for events and whatnot.

AugustusRex
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Post by AugustusRex »

atomeyes wrote:
AugustusRex wrote:I wish they had more milds and bitters. Every year they focus on American styles that (like others say on this site) are better on tap anyway. Maybe one day it will be re-named : "Randaled Days".
i've never seen a randal there, but i get what you're saying.
guess you're asking ontario breweries to make styles they're not comfortable with.
the other problem?
carbonation.
i had to read a bunch of webpages and watch tutorials on how to carbonate cask beer. i then made a step by step spreadsheet on what to do and it still didn't make total sense. i think we have a grasp on how to cask carbonate/condition, but we'll see. and if it's tapped on friday and we don't have insane temp fluctuations, will it still be carbonated by sunday?
that's why most breweries probably pre-carbonate and just rack to casks. more controlled variables, less risk of gushers.

also, ontario breweries are making less british styles and more north american styles. i never really thought of a backwoods bastard-inspired beer, but if i have the chance to brew for cask days for next year, i'd love to do that. of course, that needs 6 months' lead time and we're still kind of chasing our own tails when it comes to planning for events and whatnot.

Which one of the homebrew casks is yours? A Backwoods Bastard inspired beer sounds like a bold choice. When fresh its one of my favourites.

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grub
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Post by grub »

Craig wrote:Didn't indie do a brown with beef stock last year? Maybe garlic or something in it too? I remember seeing the barrels at the sacred oak.
that was the brewery having a little fun with the beer geek community, not actually what was in those barrels. ;)
@grubextrapolate // @biergotter // http://biergotter.org/

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grub
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Post by grub »

atomeyes wrote: the other problem?
carbonation.
i had to read a bunch of webpages and watch tutorials on how to carbonate cask beer. i then made a step by step spreadsheet on what to do and it still didn't make total sense. i think we have a grasp on how to cask carbonate/condition, but we'll see. and if it's tapped on friday and we don't have insane temp fluctuations, will it still be carbonated by sunday?
that's why most breweries probably pre-carbonate and just rack to casks. more controlled variables, less risk of gushers.
it's basically just bottle conditioning in a large bottle, no real magic there. sure the temperature and length of the event can play some havoc, but that'll happen with even perfect carbonation.
@grubextrapolate // @biergotter // http://biergotter.org/

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admviolin
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Post by admviolin »

Wasn't it Wellington that did a smoked meat and brussel sprouts beer a few years ago?

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MatttthewGeorge
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Post by MatttthewGeorge »

admviolin wrote:Wasn't it Wellington that did a smoked meat and brussel sprouts beer a few years ago?
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jcc
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Post by jcc »

atomeyes wrote:that's why most breweries probably pre-carbonate and just rack to casks. more controlled variables, less risk of gushers.
If that is what is being done, it is disappointing as that is not cask beer. Might as well serve it from an amphora. Just my opinion though.

As mentioned, cask conditioning is not hard for the most part. Just bottle conditioning with some give as you can vent the excess CO2 before serving.

atomeyes
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Post by atomeyes »

grub wrote:
atomeyes wrote: the other problem?
carbonation.
i had to read a bunch of webpages and watch tutorials on how to carbonate cask beer. i then made a step by step spreadsheet on what to do and it still didn't make total sense. i think we have a grasp on how to cask carbonate/condition, but we'll see. and if it's tapped on friday and we don't have insane temp fluctuations, will it still be carbonated by sunday?
that's why most breweries probably pre-carbonate and just rack to casks. more controlled variables, less risk of gushers.
it's basically just bottle conditioning in a large bottle, no real magic there. sure the temperature and length of the event can play some havoc, but that'll happen with even perfect carbonation.
not that easy. there's the soft and hardwood spires

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grub
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Post by grub »

atomeyes wrote:not that easy. there's the soft and hardwood spires
i wasn't saying that hypothetically - it's worked fine for every one i've ever done. spiles have more to do with serving than conditioning. if you overcarbonate / undercarbonate, the spile can be somewhat used to compensate for that (more for over than under) but that's as far as it goes.
@grubextrapolate // @biergotter // http://biergotter.org/

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