My first beer festival video! It’s not perfect, but I hope it captures the feel of the fest and the fun everyone was having.
This was my first time attending the cask fest and I was quite impressed. There were over forty casks pouring, with representation from every Long Island brewery as well as several regional brewers and two local homebrew clubs. The Fest is held annually at Blue Point Brewery in Patchogue, easily accessible from NYC via the Long Island Rail Road. We arrived just after the opening and although there was a line, it moved quickly. The Fest is held in a series of heated tents attached to the brewery. Although it was quite cold on Saturday, I was quite comfortable in a coat. The main tent was crowded, but not uncomfortably – there were always gaps to stand in around the periphery. Fest admission included a half-pint glass and six tasting tickets. The pours were generous and I usually saw full glasses handed back – and there were virtually no lines to get your beer. Live music was performed, port-a-potties were clean and accessible (again, no lines), and food was available for purchase in the back tent.
I had a terrible head cold and was able to try only a few beers, but the ones I did try were quality. Some of the stand-outs were Brooklyn Brewery’s Black Ops (the first cask to kick), Black Forest Brew Haus Chocolate Doppelbock and Captain Lawrence Brewing Company’s Captain’s Reserve Imperial IPA dry-hopped with Simcoe. I wish I had been able to taste more beer but there are more cask fests in my future.
This was a well-run festival that I would recommend to anyone in the NYC/Long Island area. It’s a great chance to try a large variety of locally-produced real ale.
If you missed the Blue Point Cask Festival, there are several upcoming cask fests in the area:
- This Wednesday, Rattle N Hum will have four casks of the Harviestoun ‘Ola Dubh’ beginning at noon. This is a rare opportunity to try 12, 18, 30 and 40-year firkins of this renowned beer. Downloadable tasting notes can be found here.
- The 17th Brooklyn “Cask Head” Cask Festival takes place at Brazen Head on February 6-8.
- March 20-22 sees the return of the 3rd Manhattan Cask Festival at Chelsea Brewing Company
More information about cask ale can be found on Alex Hall’s site.