So, we finally bid farewell to Halloween for another year.
Just like Oktoberfest this year, it just seemed to go on forever.
But ‘tis no more, and the next thing that we can all look forward to is …
… Election Day!
Nothing scary about that, eh?
We will try not to dwell on that, in these pages.
Instead, we will look back to a time of innocence, a time when dinosaurs roamed the streets and bars of NYC, and any dog could be a hot dog.
Yes folks, I am talking about Fifth Hammer’s Howl-o-Ween, which this year just happened to be accompanied by Cask-o-Ween, the caskiest cask event ever to be held on Halloween night and beyond.
I turned up last Thursday just before the witching hour of 6pm (or something like that) which was way past my usual bedtime, weaved my way through the four-footed throng, and parked myself at my usual stool at the far end of the bar.
I was happy to see that the rack of casks, glowing green in the approaching twilight, had already been tapped (well, most of them), so I grabbed a handful of beer tokens and made my way back to check out the sacrificial offerings.
The cask list showed eleven beers in total, evenly split 5-4 (er, that would be oddly split, wouldn’t it?) between Fifth Hammer brews and those from assorted guest NYC brewers; eight of which were already tapped and pouring.
There were other untapped pins, which I assumed would be for the following days of the four-night event.
Six of the tapped casks were new to me, which just happened to match the number of beer tickets gripped tightly in my sweaty little palm.
I started with a guest brew from KCBC in collaboration with Rochester’s Strangebird Brewing Company, the Notorious Bird Northern German Pilsner; crisp and tasty, with some body to it.
After fighting my way back to my perch, I realized that once the event got started, I would be in danger of losing my bar stool every time that I ventured over to the cask tower for a refill, so I also purchased a sentinel beer to slowly sip on and to mark my territory; the 3.2% Short & Stout fulfilled that role perfectly.
It wasn’t long before the master of ceremonies, gathered together the wet-nosed attendees for the red-carpet walkies; just long enough for me to race to the back and top up my sampling glass with an Artifact Engine schwarzbier from our hosts.
A first time on cask for me, medium bodied and roasty, with a residual sweetness from the maple syrup starter.
Then it all went to the dogs …
All shapes and all sizes, they came down the carpet individually and in pairs.
Most came down with a human or two.
One tiny little fella came down all by himself, and even stopped to bask in the adoration.
Another little chap was a wee bit overwhelmed by the spotlight, and he decided he wanted to be carried down by his human.
The outfits, dog and human, were cute and innovative, even accounting for the three hot dogs, all of which came with ketchup to the vocal disappointment of the spectators, although one made up for it with glowing mustard.
All the dogs were adorable, and so well behaved.
I had no favorites, you just can’t.
I had no favorite casks either.
They were also all adorable, and so well behaved.
I stayed with the Fifth Hammer brews for the rest of the session:
- The Finer Bines wet hop pale ale was everything that I expected it to be; nuanced and fruity.
- The 11 Pins came it its own Halloween costume; it was a disturbing shade of deep pink, but the cherry notes were quite subtle, nicely drowned out by the assertive West Coast hops.
- Pineapple hazy, just works well in my own humble opinion.
- If the Hammer Holiday was spiced at all, it was very delicately done.
I was hoping that I would get a chance to return for one of the other days/sessions to try any that I missed, but it was not to be.
Between work (Friday), Blue Point Cask Fest (Saturday), and the NYC Marathon (Sunday), I was unable to make a return visit last week, but no worries, I had a fun time anyway, and I did manage to catch up with Strong Rope, Wild East, Transmitter, Other Half and a bunch of homebrewers on Saturday; more about that event next week.
And no, I did not participate in the marathon, I was just hemmed in for most of the day to a narrow corridor between First and Fifth Avenues by the runners, spectators, and barricades.
It was all too short for me though; with the changing of the season, the East River Ferry has also changed their schedules, which left me running for the last ferry before 8:30pm.
That’s it for Halloween 2024, now the real nightmare looms …
… hold on tight to your ghoulies.
Scorecard w/e 11/05/24
In the past week the Cask Whisperer has sampled the following casks, all at Cask-O-Ween at Fifth Hammer Brewing:
- Fifth Hammer Finer Bines Wet Hop Pale Ale @ Fifth Hammer Brewing
- Fifth Hammer Artifact Engine Schwarzbier @ Fifth Hammer Brewing
- Fifth Hammer 11 Pins (Cherry) West Coast IPA @ Fifth Hammer Brewing
- Fifth Hammer Juice Jumper (Pineapple) Hazy DIPA @ Fifth Hammer Brewing
- Fifth Hammer Hammer Holiday Belgian Strong Ale @ Fifth Hammer Brewing
- KCBC & Strangebird Notorious Bird Pilsner @ Fifth Hammer Brewing
Upcoming Cask Events (Festivals and Otherwise)
It has all gone quiet for 2024 …
4/2/25 – 4/5/25: 26th Annual NERAX will be held in Boston MA. Save the dates!
Upcoming Random NYC Casks
- On Thursday, November 14th City Swiggers will be celebrating their anniversary with a cask of Sierra Nevada Celebration.
NYC Cask Venues
Known Operational/Active Beer Engines
- Jones Wood Foundry (x2)
- Fifth Hammer
- Wild East
- The Shakespeare (x3)
- Cask Bar & Kitchen
- Drop-off Service
Occasional Pins (worth a follow on Instagram)
- Strong Rope
- KCBC
- Tørst
- Blind Tiger Ale House
- Threes Brewing
- Brouwerij Lane (First Friday Firkins)
