On January 25th 2014 Central City Brewing held their annual Winter Cask Festival.
The pamphlet claims 30 casks from breweries in BC and the Northwest but this for the first time I can remember was not true. This year every single cask was from BC and only BC. Like always tickets ran you $30 and included 3 samples and a branded 4oz glass. Extra samples were around a dollar a piece. For the most part all 33 casks were very big on alcohol content as is expected with a winter cask festival. It was great to be able to catch up with all of the different brewers that I have been able to get to know over the last year. I was lucky enough to spend the afternoon with Sara and Chloe two amazing craft beer fans. This year I did the impossible and tried every single cask.
The Brew List
1 Central City Brewers + Distillers & Camra – Mystery Cask
2 Mission Springs – McLennan’s Scotch Ale
3 Spinnakers – Hopscotch
4 Coal Harbour – IPA
5 Dead Frog – Fearless IPA
6 Old Yale – Sergeant’s Citrus
7 Phillips – Puzzler Imperial Belgian Black IPA
8 Big Ridge – West Coast Pale Ale
9 Deep Cove – Go Fuggle Yourself
10 Red Truck – Ale Dry Hopped
11 Big River – Bourbon Oaked ESB
12 Bridge Brewing – Nettle & Honey Red Ale
13 Persephone – Dry Hopped Red Ale
14 Central City Brewers + Distillers – Chocolate & Orange Porter
15 33 Acres – Melaco
16 4 Winds – Coffee & Cream Oat Porter
17 Russell – Estate Coffee Porter
18 Whistler Brewhouse – Oaked Brown Porter
19 Central City Brewers + Distillers – Vanilla Bean & Espresso Stout
20 Brassneck – Bourbon Barrel Aged Inertia
21 Hoyne – High Voltage Espresso Stout
22 Parallel 49 – Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout
23 Steamworks – Rye Stout with Laphroaig
24 Cannery – Vanilla Nut Express
25 Driftwood – Old Cellar Dweller
26 Granville Island – Burly Goat Weizenbock
27 Green Leaf – Black & Tan Fantasy28 Howe Sound – Winter Ale
29 Lighthouse – The Bad Seed Farmhouse Quince Ale
30 Moon Under Water – Belgian Triple Wedding Ale
31 R&B – Ginger Beer
32 Storm – Orange Creamsicle
33 Yaletown – Jolly Hooligan
Central City Brewers + Distillers & Camra – Mystery Cask
Cumin? Spice not a favourite
Mission Springs – McLennan’s Scotch Ale
Spinnakers – Hopscotch
Dark Amber Colour
Caramel, Scotch Ale, hops bitter, pine
Coal Harbour – IPA
Malty, citrus, sweet, bitter
Dead Frog – Fearless IPA
Amber colour, off white head
citrus, pine, malts, sweet
Old Yale – Sergeant’s Citrus
Orange colour, off white head
pine, citrus, malts, full bodied
Phillips – Puzzler Imperial Belgian Black IPA
roasty malts, bitter smoke, mild hops bitterness
Big Ridge – West Coast Pale Ale
pale malts, citrus, orange, floral hops
Deep Cove – Go Fuggle Yourself
Cloudy amber colour, white head
citrus, floral hops, malty, citrus, tea, saison,
Red Truck – Ale Dry Hopped
copper orange colour, white head
malty, hops, citrus, orange
Big River – Bourbon Oaked ESB
earthy, citrus, rind, sweet, floral hops
Bridge Brewing – Nettle & Honey Red Ale
Deep Copper
malty, honey, nettle, amazingly sessionable
Persephone – Dry Hopped Red Ale
citrus, pine, malts, caramel, sweet
Central City Brewers + Distillers – Chocolate & Orange Porter
big roast, chocolate, orange, mild coffee
33 Acres – Melaco
roasty, sweet, vanilla, molasses, smokey
4 Winds – Coffee & Cream Oat Porter
Black brown colour
coffee, roasty, creamy, oats, semi sweet
Russell – Estate Coffee Porter
huge coffee, mild roasted malts
Whistler Brewhouse – Oaked Brown Porter
big roasted malts, creamy, mild, hops, sweet
Central City Brewers + Distillers – Vanilla Bean & Espresso Stout
my last beer and I missed a photo and only took the note tasty (oops)
Brassneck – Bourbon Barrel Aged Inertia
black opaque, brown head
bourbon, vanilla, roasty, bitter, coffee, cream
Hoyne – High Voltage Espresso Stout
Black opaque colour brown head
roasted coffee, peaty, vanilla
Parallel 49 – Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout
Bourbon, vanilla, roasted malts, bitterness, boozy
Steamworks – Rye Stout with Laphroaig
smokey
Cannery – Vanilla Nut Express
nut brown, vanilla, sweet
Driftwood – Old Cellar Dweller
Think double IPA, malty, citrus, sweet, boozy
Granville Island – Burly Goat Weizenbock
sweet, brown sugar, dark fruits, malts
Green Leaf – Black & Tan Fantasy
Black, brown head
roasty malt, coffee, chi, tasty
Howe Sound – Winter Ale
sweet malts
Lighthouse – The Bad Seed Farmhouse Quince Ale
cloudy yellow, white head
yeasty, wheat, citrus, very mild funk, lemon peel, wants to be sour
Moon Under Water – Belgian Triple Wedding Ale
sweet citrus, orange, candied sugar
R&B – Ginger Beer
sweet ginger, more bite than ginger ale
Storm – Orange Creamsicle
vanilla, orange, sweetness, malts
Yaletown – Jolly Hooligan
sweet candied sugar, dark malts, rum, oak
This was another great event put on by Central City. Thanks again for holding this event again as it is one of the most celebrated event each year.
Full Sized photos can be found here
My Favourite beer of the night was a tie between two beers.
Bridge Brewing – Nettle & Honey Red Ale
and
Lighthouse – The Bad Seed Farmhouse Quince Ale
I look forward to the Summer Cask Festival! If you have never been to one of these cask festivals before you really need to check this one or one like it out! They are a ton of fun and a great way to meet like minded craft beer nuts.
