Actually, Cask Ale IS Growing... Isn't It?

If you've been reading my blog for a while, this won't surprise you: One of the things I miss most about living in Belgium is living nearer to British cask ale.

I already loved Belgian beer when I moved to Brussels more than four years ago. I expected to keep loving it. What I did not expect, while there, was to fall in love with British cask ale. Also unexpected was finding a thriving cask ale scene on my visits back to the States.

And so I've got to raise a point and a question about the latest Cask Report, written by colleague Pete Brown and funded by the industry. The gist of the report is that more British people are drinking cask ale, and more British pubs are selling it, even if volume there is not increasing overall. (All this is happening while pubs are closing and other beer sales are dropping pretty dramatically, so one way to put it might be, "Wow, guys, things sure could be a lot worse!" Which is totally fair to celebrate, frankly.)

On his blog last week Pete wrote, "But despite the fact that many people simplify this good news into 'cask is growing,' actually it's not. Cask's fantastic performance is great news for drinkers, but good as it is, it's still only static in volume terms."

Here is my point: The Cask Report only covers the U.K., which is what it is supposed to do. It does not cover the U.S. (although Garrett Oliver notes in the foreword that "hundreds of American craft breweries make cask beer these days.") Meanwhile I've seen--with my own beady eyes, I mean--plenty of anecdotal evidence that cask ale is thriving among us Yanks. Everywhere I went on my recent trip--Mid-Atlantic region, Midwest, Mountain states, and the Pacific Northwest--I found cask ale options that had not always been there. And I saw people drinking it.

Here is my question: Does anyone have numbers to prove or disprove my point? My suspicion is that cask ale volume is actually increasing in the United States... and it might even be increasing somewhat dramatically. That would mean logically that cask ale volume overall is increasing as well, although it would sadly not include the British brewers and enthusiasts who sponsor the Cask Report.

But for for those of us who carry a love of cask ale with us wherever we travel, wherever we live, it would be welcome news just the same. Because, to quote Mr. Oliver's foreword again, "British cask beer is an inspirational thread that runs through a worldwide artisanal brewing movement."

So... Does anyone track cask ale production or consumption in the United States? Or farther abroad?

Upper photo: Cask porter and fries at the Mad Fox Brewing Company in Falls Church, Virginia. Lower photo: Oliver head brewer Steve Jones peeks into the cask cellar--into which only he is allowed--beneath the Pratt Street Ale House in Baltimore.

When Does a Beer List Become Beer Porn?

I have a confession to make: I've been reading the draft list of Churchkey in DC almost daily for a few weeks now. I can't stop. It's just so... lurid.

And it doesn't even have any of those flowery, often inaccurate descriptors that plague the menus so many other haunts. There is only beer director Greg Engert's system of categorizing his offerings by broad yet useful profile: Crisp. Hop. Smoke. Cask. Malt. Roast. Fruit & Spice. Tart & Funky. Two pages, front and back, showing off a potent combination of quality, quantity and diversity distributed across 52 taps.

It's not the genres that turn me on, though. It's the actresses. Uerige Alt. Zinnebir. Bell's Cherry Stout on cask. Oliver's Bulldog Bitter, also on cask. Palo Santo Marron from a four-ounce snifter, which is frankly all you need. And these little starlets change every day.

What makes something pornography, anyway? To paraphrase an old Supreme Court ruling/joke, "I don't know, but I know it when I see it." Probably arousal is prerequisite then. I think this counts.

I haven't even told you about the food yet.

Another Day, Another Bitter.

I'm putting up a second nominee for Perfect American Craft Beer According to Me. Oddly enough it's another bitter.

That would be the crisply hopped Bulldog Bitter from Oliver Breweries, a.k.a. the Pratt Street Ale House in Baltimore. I've consulted with the judges, and we have agreed to overlook the fact that the beer is rather British and was even made by a British person (brewer Steve Jones). After all the beer was born on American soil and our country has a constitutional tradition of jus soli. It was born here, so it's American. Much like Steve's own baby all of two weeks ago. So go and congratulate him by spending money in his pub.

We've also agreed to overlook the fact that the beer was a special recipe made for the World Cup, when hundreds of American fans came to pack his pub and drink casks of the stuff dry. Because we hold out hope on behalf of the locals that the Bulldog will become a regular. At 4.3% abv it's at least as tasty as the Best Bitter (4.8%) and approximately 0.5% more useful. You can't argue with numbers.

You also can't argue with the sign on the door to the firkin cellar: ONLY STEVE GOES IN HERE, NO EXCEPTIONS. That is quality control, people.

Also very, very good: the Dark Horse mild on cask. Roast and toast and easy-drinking, ducking sweetness altogether. Lots of character packed into 4% abv.

More Baltimore stuff coming soon. Or when I have time. Many thanks to Brad and Steve and Brian and Casey for their insight and guidance. And especially to friend and colleague Chuck Cook for arranging the tour.