I won’t admit that I have a problem – when there’s three whole days to be surrounded by over 300 casks, how could I turn down one single day? October 23rd to 25th welcomed the annual Cask Days weekend which took place in the spacious Evergreen Brickworks founded by the fellas behind Barvolo in 2005. Casks from British Columbia, New York, the UK, Montreal and tonnes of local brewerys welcomed our tastebuds.

   

Throughout the three-day period, I very relentlessly indulged in three porchetta buns and a heck load of beer, aiming for the ones I haven’t tried before. I made sure to track the beloved of the beloved – but the selected few that I found were extraordinary will be marked with a “★”:

United States:

  • washington: mac and jacks blackcat – porter with bourbon & vanilla
  • washington: mac and jacks blackcat – porter with coffee
  • washington: hilliard’s murdered out stout – irish dry stout
  • washington: rainy daze sunrise coffee porter – porter ★
  • california: ladyface ale companie ballista – imperial grisette aged in vidgnier barrels
  • california: mog city hoptonic – american ipa with simcoe, amarillo and citro hops
  • california: 101 cider house – cactus red wild cider (tasted like a fruit roll up x jolly rancher!)
  • seattle: elliott bay organic demolition – american strong
  • new york: flying bison herc barleywine – oak aged barley wine

Outside of Ontario:

  • nova scotia: big spruce bitter get’er – black ipa
  • nova scotia: bad apple box cutter – american ipa
  • alberta: big rock kentucky kicker – bourbon barrel aged dark ale with maple
  • quebec: le trou du diable madera – 5 year old barrel aged maderized beer
  • quebec: dieu du ciel! solstice d’hiver – barley wine
  • quebec: dieu du ciel! peche mortal ★
  • british columbia: real cask black burn best bitter – english best bitter
  • british columbia: howe sound father john’s winter ale – spiced ale w. coffee & cognac

Ontario:

  • beau’s matt’s sleepy time – belgian imperial stout ★
  • amsterdam el jaguar – barrel aged imperial stout with chocolate & chilies
  • amsterdam superstituion #2 – farmhouse ale aged in pinot noir barrels with brett ★
  • b-sides bewing label gigantic la formidable – american-belgo ipa
  • black oak peg leg – robust porter with chocolate, vanilla & spiced rum ★
  • indie alehouse instigator – ipa ★
  • high road bronan ★
  • house ale:  swag out – imperial stout
  • community beer works: hoppy porter
  • community beer works: affective disorder stout

From this event I learnt that I am truly a sucker for Ontario beers. I tried a handful of UK beers as well, but I was negative in fancying them, they were tangy, light and… off. My favourites were the amsterdam superstition and black oak peg leg! Now go on, flip through the sights that we spotted during our visits to Cask Days 2015:

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